mm  mm 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


04V&&J 


MONUMENTAL    BRASSES. 


Zhc  antiquarian  Xibran>. 


1.  MONUMENTAL     BRASSES.      By  the  Rev.  Herbert 

W.  Macklin,  B.A.,  late  Hon.  Sec.  Cambridge  University 
Association  of  Brass  Collectors.  With  numerous  Illustra- 
tions.    3s.  6d. 

2.  THE    HISTORY,    PRINCIPLES,   AND    PRACTICE 

OF  SYMBOLISM  IN  CHRISTIAN  ART.  By  F. 
Edward  Huljie,  F.L.S.,  F.S.A.  With  numerous  Illustra- 
tions.    3s.  6d. 

3.  THE    HISTORY,    PRINCIPLES,   AND    PRACTICE 

OF  HERALDRY.  By  F.  Edward  Holme,  F.L.S., 
F.S.A.     With  numerous  Illustrations.     3s.  6d. 

[Other  Volumes  to  follow.] 


MONUMENTAL  BRASSES 


BY   THE 

REV.   HERBERT   W.    MACKLIN,   B.A. 

Late  Hon.  Sec.   Cambridge   University  Association  of  Brass  Collectors. 
Member  St.  Paul's  Ecclesiological  Society,  etc. 


fleto  ffotft 

MACMILLAN    &   CO. 

LONDON:    SWAN    SONNENSCIIEIN   &  CO. 

1S91 


N3 


PREFACE 


The  object  of  this  handbook  is  to  enable  the  explorer  of  churches, 
young  or  old,  clerical  or  lay,  to  more  fully  appreciate  the  true 
value  of  those  ancient  brazen  memorials  which  they  so  frequently 
see  adorning  pavement  or  wall. 

There  are  probably  no  objects  of  antiquarian  interest  which 
so  well  repay  any  attention  which  may  be  devoted  to  them,  and 
the  ease  with  which  a  valuable  collection  of  rubbings  can  be  made 
has  induced  great  numbers  of  persons  to  provide  themselves  with 
paper  and  heelball,  and  apply  their  energies  to  the  church  floor. 
To  such  persons  this  book  is  more  particularly  addressed,  in  the 
hope  that  it  will  prove  a  useful  and  handy  guide  to  the  pursuit 
of  what  the  author  has  found  to  be  a  most  fascinating  branch  of 
the  vast  tree  of  archaeology. 

No  cheap  handbook  dealing  with  the  subject  has  ever  before 
appeared,  and  even  the  more  expensive  manuals  of  Haines  and 
Boutell  have  long  been  out  of  print,  and  are  hard  to  procure. 
The  beginner  has  therefore  been  frequently  in  a  difficulty — eager 
to  rub,  and  anxious  to  imbibe  knowledge,  but  unable  to  do  so  on 
account  of  the  absence  of  the  needful  text-book.  Such  was  the 
case  with  the  author  and  his  Kentish  school-friends  when  first  they 
commenced  their  "  chalchotriptic "  expeditions  from  Cranbrook 
town  to  the  neighbouring  churches  of  the  Weald,  and  began  to 
adorn  the  walls  of  their  studies  with  mediaeval  portraits  in  black 
and  white. 

In  the  pages  which  follow,  an  attempt  has  been  made,  amongst 
other  matters,  to  give  as  full  an  account  as  space  would  permit 
of  the  various  styles  and  fashions  of  armour  and  costume.  In 
so  doing,  the  author  has  been  careful  to  follow  in  the  lines  laid 
down  by  the  famous  antiquarians  whose  books  are  described  in 

3 


PREFACE. 


the  chapter  entitled  "A  Literary  Guide."  He  has,  however, 
stated  nothing  which  is  not  fully  borne  out  by  the  evidence  of  his 
own  collection  of  rubbings. 

The  county  notes,  and  the  lists  of  towns  and  villages  where 
brasses  are  to  be  found,  will  no  doubt  be  useful.  It  cannot  claim 
to  be  perfect,  nor  would  space  have  allowed  the  brasses  to  be 
mentioned  in  detail.  For  detailed  information  the  collector  must 
have  recourse  to  the  larger  works  already  mentioned. 

The  author  is  glad  to  embrace  this  opportunity  of  recording  his 
obligations  to  the  clergy  and  others  who  are  the  custodians  of  the 
brasses  of  England.  Except  in  a  few  very  rare  instances,  he  has 
met  with  nothing  but  kindness  at  their  hands,  from  his  school- 
days upwards.  The  rubbing  of  a  brass,  properly  performed,  does 
not  work  the  slightest  injury  to  the  monument  which  is  copied  ; 
but  the  collector  should  remember  that,  after  all,  he  is  under  an 
obligation  to  those  who  have  permitted  him  to  follow  his  pursuit. 
Courtesy  received  should,  if  possible,  be  returned.  And  there  is 
one  act  of  courtesy  which  is  easily  done, — on  a  wet  and  muddy 
day  the  collector  may  well  leave  his  boots  in  the  church  porch, 
and  on  a  Saturday  afternoon,  when  God's  House  is  ready  for  the 
services  of  the  morrow,  it  is  only  fair  to  do  so.  Much  stronger 
is  the  obligation  to  leave  matting,  seats,  hassocks,  and  books  in 
the  same  places  and  state  in  which  they  were  found. 

In  conclusion,  if  this  little  handbook  should  help  to  infuse  a 
greater  love  and  reverence  for  our  national  antiquities  into  one 
single  breast,  it  will  have  done  its  work. 


St.  Ive,  Cornwall,  June,  1890. 


N.B. — The  illustrations  are  from  the  author's  own  collection, 
except  those  on  pages  72  and  82,  which  are  reproduced  from 
rubbings  made  by  Mr.  Thorp,  who  kindly  lent  them  for  the  pur- 
pose, that  on  page  34,  from  a  sketch  by  Mr.  J.  P.  Freud,  and 
that  on  page  49. 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 


Introduction 

I.  Origin  and  History  of  the  Manufactu 

a.  Material       .... 

b.  Manufacture 

c.  Progress  and  Decline  of  the  Art 

d.  Historic  Treatment  of  Brasses 


II.  Making  a  Collection 
a.   Methods  of  Copying 


b.   How  to  Arrange  a  Collection 


III. 


Classes  of  Effigies 
a.   Priests 

Episcopal  Vestments 
Processional  Vestments 
Academicals     . 
The  Monastic  Orders 
Post-Reformation  Ecclesiastics 


Brasses  of  Knights 


c.  Brasses  of  Ladies 

d.  Brasses  of  Civilians 

e.  Shroud  Brasses 

IV.  Accessories 

a.  Brasses  and  Architecture 

Canopies 
Crosses  . 

b.  Brasses  and  Heraldry 

c.  Inscriptions  . 

Y.  Additional  Classes 
;.   Flemish  Brasses 

b.  French  Brasses 

c.  Palimpsests  . 

VI.  A  Literary  Guide 

VII.  Distribution  . 

Alphabetical  List  of  Counties  and  Tlaces 

5 


of  Rubbings 


re  of  Brasses 


PAGb 

7 
ii 
13 
13 
14 
iS 


28 

35 
35 
3^ 
40 

43 
47 
47 
4S 
68 
76 
S3 

S4 
84 
84 
87 

90 

94 

104 
104 
107 
107 

"3 

123 
124 


LIST   OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Sir  William  Harper  and  Wife,  1573 
Priest  in  Eucharistic  Vestments 

The  Amice 

Mitres,  Fourteenth  and  Sixteenth  Centuries 

Coped  Priest,  15 11. 

A  Doctor,  14S0 

Stone  Effigy,  1270 

Sir  John  Daubernoun,   1277 

Sir  John  d' Argentine,   13S2. 

Sir  John  Lowe,  1426 

Sir  Humphrey  Stanley,  1505 

A  Lady,   1400,  showing  Head-dress 

The  Sideless  Cote-Hardi     . 

Anne  Herward,   1485,  showing  Butterfly  Head-dress 

Elena  Bernard,   1467,  showing  Horned  Head-dress 

Elyzth.  Perepoynt,  1543,  showing  Pedimental  Head-di 

Ed\v.  Courtenay,   1460 

Shroud  Brasses 

Crosses 

Palimpsest,  from  St.  Alban's  Abbey 
Palimpsest  Evang.  Symbol,  British  Museum 


ess 


PAGE 

30 

34 
36 
39 
4i 
45 
49 
54 
5S 
61 

65 

70 
70 

72 

73 

75 

79 

82 

S7-89 

109 

in 


INTRODUCTION. 


Monumental  brasses  are  of  two  kinds — ancient  and  modern,  the 
latter  being  almost  invariably  inscriptions  within  a  more  or  less 
elaborate  border.  The  brass-rubber,  however,  confines  his  atten- 
tion to  those  of  earlier  times,  not  without  sufficient  reason. 

The  brasses  of  mediaeval  England  are  of  the  greatest  possible 
interest,  and  form  a  valuable  series  of  illustrations  and  a  com- 
mentary on  the  history  and  manners  and  customs  of  our  ancestors. 
Commencing,  as  they  do,  in  the  reign  of  Edward  I.,  and  from  the 
time  of  the  last  Crusade,  they  continue  in  use,  without  a  break, 
through  the  troubled  periods  of  the  French  wars,  the  Peasants' 
revolt,  the  struggles  of  the  rival  Roses,  the  Revival  of  Learning, 
and  the  Reformation,  to  the  Great  Rebellion  and  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Commonwealth,  and  thus  form  one  of  the  many  links 
of  the  chain  which  binds  us  to  the  past. 

A  thousand  churches  in  all  parts  of  the  country  still  preserve 
the  brasses  that  were  laid  down  hundreds  of  years  ago,  and  in 
almost  as  perfect  a  state  as  when  they  were  fresh  from  the  en- 
graver's hand.  Stone  effigies  of  equal  antiquity  are  often  found 
to  be  mutilated  almost  beyond  recognition.  The  hands,  the  feet, 
the  noses,  the  very  heads  are  broken  and  lost.  The  bodies  are 
hacked  and  disfigured  with  the  names  of  Harry  and  Harriet,  of 
the  Smiths  and  Joneses  and  Robinsons  of  the  darkest  of  dark 
ages,  the  eighteenth  century. 

The  brass  alone  defies  the  hand  of  time  and  the  penknife  of 
the  desecrator.  In  the  Chapel  of  St.  Edmund,  in  the  Abbey 
Church  of  Westminster,  lie  side  by  side  the  brazen  effigies  of 
Alianora  de  Bohun,  Duchess  of  Gloucester,  daughter  and  wife  of 
two  great  Constables  of  England,  dramatis  persona  of  Shake- 
speare's  "Richard  II.,"  an  1  Robert    de    Waldeby,    Archbishop 


8  INTRODUCTION. 


of  York,  the  tutor  of  Edward  the  Black  Prince.  Elsewhere  lie 
the  brasses  of  John  Estney,  Abbot  of  Westminster,  of  Dr.  Bill, 
the  first  Dean,  of  Sir  Thomas  Vaughan,  beheaded  by  order  of 
Richard  III.,  of  Sir  Humphrey  Stanley,  knighted  upon  the  battle- 
field of  Bosworth,  and  others.  Of  these,  some  are  slightly  worn, 
and  some  slightly  broken,  but  on  no  single  one  of  them  have 
wandering  sightseers  succeeded  in  scratching  so  much  as  an 
initial.  The  material  of  which  brasses  are  made  is  of  such 
strength  and  durability  as  to  withstand  misfortunes  to  which 
effigies  of  stone  would  quickly  succumb.  The  action  of  fire  is 
an  instance.  Churches  have  been  burnt  to  the  ground,  and  their 
monuments  for  the  most  part  reduced  to  dust ;  but  the  brasses 
have  escaped  with  little  or  no  damage.  The  Surrey  Archaeological 
Society  has  in  its  possession  a  beautiful  little  brass,  originally  in 
Netley  Abbey,  which  was  discovered  some  years  ago  in  a  cottage, 
doing  duty  as  the  back  of  a  fireplace.  It  is  quite  uninjured.  An 
additional  advantage  which  brasses  have  over  stone  effigies  is  that 
all  classes  of  the  community  are  commemorated  by  them.  The 
carved  figure  upon  its  lofty  marble  tomb  and  beneath  its  vaulted 
canopy  was  suitable  only  for  persons  of  the  highest  rank  :  the 
noble,  the  knight,  the  lord  of  the  manor,  the  bishop  of  the 
province,  the  abbot  of  the  monastery.  The  brass  might  be  used, 
and  was  used,  by  all  ranks  alike  ;  and  moreover,  being  usually 
let  into  the  pavement  of  the  church,  occupied  no  valuable  space. 
In  brasses,  as  in  monuments  of  stone,  we  have  our  nobles  and 
knights  and  bishops,  but  we  can  add  to  them  the  franklein,  the 
yeoman,  the  merchant,  the  mechanic,  the  servant,  the  parish 
priest,  the  monk,  the  student,  the  schoolboy.  The  scope  of  the 
brass-engraver  was  a  wide  one,  and  his  work  applicable  to  the 
humblest  purse  as  well  as  to  the  richest.  In  St.  Alban's  Abbey, 
once  the  wealthiest  and  most  important  religious  foundation  in 
England,  lies  the  magnificent  memorial  of  one  of  its  abbots.  His 
life-size  figure  is  engraved  upon  plates  of  brass  of  exquisite 
workmanship  and  surrounded  by  canopy  and  diaper  work,  by 
saints  and  angels.  Close  by  are  the  humbler  memorials  of  some 
of  the  Benedictine  monks  of  his  monastery,  simple  figures  or  half- 
figures,  of  small  size  and  no  great  value,  save  to  the  student  of  the 
past. 


INTRODUCTION. 


But  it  is  as  memorials  of  middle-class  and  common-place  life 
that  brasses  gain  their  greatest  importance.  The  vast  majority 
of  persons  pictured  and  commemorated  by  them  are  the  possessors 
of  names  absolutely  unknown  to  history,  of  whom  without  their 
brasses  we  should  have  known  nothing.  A  new  light,  for  instance, 
is  thrown  upon  the  Wars  of  the  Roses  when  we  find  that  in  spite 
of  troublous  times  brasses  became  more  and  more  common,  from 
which,  as  from  other  indications,  we  can  infer  that  the  struggles 
of  the  rival .  factions  could  have  had  little  influence  upon  the 
peaceful  middle  classes,  who  were  all  the  time  steadily  increasing 
in  wealth  and  importance. 

If  any  one  still  asks,  What  is  the  use  of  making  a  collection  of 
brass-rubbings?  many  answers  may  be  given. 

In  the  first  place,  brasses  give  a  complete  pictorial  history  of 
the  use  and  development  of  armour,  dress,  and  ecclesiastical 
vestments  from  the  thirteenth  to  the  end  of  the  seventeenth 
century — a  long  array  of  Crusaders,  conquerors  of  Wales  and 
Scotland,  fugitives  from  Bannockburn,  opponents  or  supporters  of 
Gaveston  and  the  Spencers,  heroes  of  Crecy  and  Poictiers,  of 
Shrewsbury  and  Chevy  Chase,  of  Agincourt  and  Orleans,  of  St. 
Alban's  and  Barnet  and  Bosworth;  knights  of  the  Garter,  and 
rivals  in  the  joust  and  the  tournament;  stately  ecclesiastics,  arch- 
bishops, bishops,  canons,  parish  priests,  abbots,  priors,  monks, 
abbesses,  nuns,  and  the  professors,  lecturers  and  divines  of  the 
Reformation.  Among  civilians,  the  wealthy  burghers  of  the 
fourteenth  century,  contemporaries  of  Chaucer  and  of  Wiclif,  of 
Wat  Tyler  and  Jack  Cade,  wool-staplers,  brewers,  glovers,  salters, 
and  so  forth;  men  who  saw  the  monasteries  suppressed,  the  Bible 
first  printed,  the  Marian  martyrs  burnt,  who  prepared  to  receive 
the  Spanish  Armada,  contemporaries  of  Shakespeare,  mayors, 
aldermen,  notaries,  jurats,  and  many  more.  All  these  we  see, 
not  in  fancy  sketches,  but  in  actual  contemporaneous  portraits. 

But  this  answer  by  no  means  exhausts  the  subject.  The  rise 
and  fall  of  mediaeval  art  and  architecture  has  no  slight  connection 
with  these  memorials  of  the  dead.  With  Gothic  architecture 
brasses  attain  to  their  greatest  magnificence  and  beauty,  and  with 
its  decline  they  fall  also.  Bold  and  free  designs  characterize  the 
best  period  ;  but  by  the  time  of  the  accession  of  Elizabeth,  the 


10  INTRODUCTION. 


art,  as  art,  lias  almost  died  out,  and  succeeding  brasses  are  poor 
in  design  and  feeble  in  execution,  wrought  no  longer  from  the 
best  material  that  could  be  procured,  but  from  thin  and  cheaper 
plates,  which  have  now  suffered  more  in  two  hundred  years  than 
the  earlier  examples  have  in  five.  To  the  herald  also  brasses  are 
of  no  small  importance.  Nearly  all  the  better  brasses  are,  or  have 
been,  furnished  with  shields  of  arms,  either  in  or  about  the 
canopies,  or  at  the  corners  of  the  stone  slabs  in  which  the  plates 
are  set.  In  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries,  ladies  of  good 
birth  often  wear  their  own  and  their  husbands'  coats-of-arms  em- 
broidered upon  their  kirtles  and  mantles,  while  their  husbands 
wear  a  short  coat  or  tabard-of-arms  over  their  body  armour. 

The  inscriptions  which  usually  accompany  the  engraved  effigies 
are  of  peculiar  value  to  the  student  of  archeology.  They  form 
the  key  to  the  chronology  of  art,  and  give  invaluable  aid  in  fixing 
the  date  of  any  works  of  painting,  sculpture,  enamelling  or  metal- 
working.  Brasses,  in  fact,  are  almost  the  only  dated  mediaeval 
works  of  art.  In  themselves,  too,  these  inscriptions  are  of  value 
to  the  palaeographer  as  well  as  to  the  collector  of  epitaphs.  Stone 
inscriptions  speedily  wear  away,  but  not  so  those  on  brass. 


MONUMENTAL  BRASSES. 


i.  Giloin  an&  UMstorp  of  tfoe  flDanufacture 

of  Brasses. 

According  to  Haines,  brasses  were  more  particularly  derived 
from  two  allied  but  older  forms  of  memorial, — 

(i)  Stone  incised  slabs. 

(2)  Limoges  enamels. 
Incised  slabs  are  precisely  the  same  kind  of  memorials  as  brasses 
themselves,  differing  only  in  the  material  used.  Figures,  canopies, 
coats-of-anns,  crosses,  and  the  like,  are  cut  in  the  Purbeck  marble, 
slate,  or  alabaster,  which  are  commonly  used  for  these  purposes, 
by  means  of  incised  lines.  But  the  difference  of  material  is  by 
no  means  unimportant.  As  has  been  already  pointed  out,  the 
durability  of  brass  is  beyond  comparison  greater  than  that  of  the 
hardest  stone,  and  consequently  the  number  of  incised  slabs 
which  have  remained  to  this  day  are  inconsiderable.  Even  those 
which  we  have  are  worn  down  to  such  an  extent  that  the  design 
is  almost  obliterated,  and  in  all  cases  alike  an  ordinary  heelball 
rubbing  is  practically  an  impossibility.  One  method  alone  may 
be  employed  with  any  likelihood  of  success,  and  has  been  so 
employed  by  Mr.  Greeny,  of  Norwich,  the  continental  brass- 
rubber.  A  very  light  heelball  rubbing  must  first  be  taken,  so  as 
to  indicate  the  position  of  the  component  parts  of  the  design,  and 


12  MONUMENTAL    BRASSES. 


then  the  details  may,  as  far  as  possible,  be  painted  in  with  printer's 
ink  from  careful  notes  and  measurements  or  a  rough  sketch. 

Crosses  were  at  an  early  date  incised  upon  stone  slabs,  and 
more  especially  on  coffin-lids,  and  were  followed  during  the  12th 
century,  both  in  England  and  on  the  Continent,  by  effigies.  In 
the  14th  century  brasses  began  almost  entirely  to  supersede  them 
in  England,  though  in  Germany,  France  and  Flanders  the  incised 
slabs  still  held  their  ground,  and  continued  in  as  frequent  use  as 
their  brazen  rivals.  Even  in  England  they  lingered  on,  and  occa- 
sional examples  may  be  found  of  each  of  the  principal  classes  of 
effigies — priests,  knights,  ladies,  and  civilians — throughout  the 
14th,  15th,  and  16th  centuries. 

Among  the  earlier  examples  of  the  13th  century  the  most  not- 
able are  as  follows  : — 

Sir  John  de  Bitton,  1227,  Bitton,  Somerset. 

A  knight  (cross-legged),  c.  1260,  Avenhury,  Herefordshire. 

Bishop  William  de  Byttone,  1274,  Wells  Cathedral. 

Sir  John  de  Botiler,  c.  12S5,  St.  Bride's,  Glamorgan. 

These  were  preceded  by  effigies  carved  in  low  relief,  almost 
invariably  on  coffin-lids,  and  by  effigies  partly  in  relief  and  partly 
incised.  Good  examples  of  the  12  th  century  may  be  seen  in  the 
cloisters  of  Westminster  Abbey,  to  an  abbot,  probably  Gilbert 
Crispin,  n  14;  and  in  Salisbury  Cathedral,  to  Bishops  Roger  and 
Jocelin,  11 39  and  n  84. 

Limoges  enamels  came  into  use  in  France  and  Western  Europe 
generally  about  the  12th  century,  and  therefore  shortly  before  the 
era  of  brasses.  The  art  of  enamelling  metals  had  originally  been 
introduced  from  Byzantium,  though  not  at  first  as  a  form  of 
memorial  for  the  dead.  This  application  was  reserved  for  the 
artists  of  Limoges.  Rectangular  sheets  of  copper  were  overlaid 
with  costly  and  many-coloured  enamels,  the  colours  being  divided 
one  from  the  other  by  narrow  ridges  of  metal.  The  whole  com- 
position would  present  somewhat  of  a  resemblance  to  a  beautiful 
mosaic.  For  monumental  purposes  an  effigy  would  usually  occupy 
the  centre,  and  be  surrounded  by  canopy,  diapered  background 
and  inscription.  Such  memorials  were  always  of  small  size,  on 
account  of  their  costliness,  which  must  have  been  considerable. 
After  a  time  we  find  the  central  figure  showing  the  plain  and  un- 


ORIGIN    AND    HISTORY   OF   MANUFACTURE.  1 3 


enamelled  surface  of  the  metal,  and  at  once  have  the  monumental 
brass.  The  rectangular  brasses  of  Flanders  and  North  Germany 
bear  clear  witness  to  their  Limoges  origin,  and  were  themselves 
probably  adorned  by  the  insertion  of  enamel  in  their  incised  lines. 
Indeed,  enamel  has  always  been  used  in  connection  with  brasses, 
especially  with  their  armorial  details,  and  in  isolated  shields  of 
arms,  as  they  are  commonly  found  at  the  corners  of  a  brass-con- 
taining slab  ;  the  field  is  almost  invariably  cut  away  in  order  that 
the  plate  may  receive  its  heraldic  tinctures.  Owing  to  the  frailty 
of  the  enamel,  and  to  the  expansion  and  contraction  of  its  metal 
bed,  as  well  as  to  the  rough  wear  and  tear  undergone  upon  the 
pavement  of  a  church,  it  seldom  occurs  that  any  traces  of  its 
use  can  actually  be  seen.  Instances  nevertheless  do  sometimes 
occur,  as  in  the  shield  borne  by  Sir  John  Daubernoun,  1277, 
whose  brass,  the  earliest  still  existing  in  England,  lies  in  the  chan- 
cel of  Stoke  D'Abernon  Church,  in  Surrey.  On  a  later  brass, 
1473,  at  Broxbourne,  in  Hertfordshire,  the  tabard-of-arms  worn 
by  Sir  John  Say  contains  much  of  the  enamel  with  which  it  was 
inlaid.     Examples  might  without  difficulty  be  multiplied. 

MATERIAL. 

The  material  with  which  brasses  were  made  was  an  alloy  of 
copper  and  zinc,  called  laton.  It  was  manufactured  chiefly  at 
Cologne,  where  it  was  beaten  into  rectangular  plates,  and  thence 
imported  into  England  and  other  countries.  From  the  place 
where  they  were  produced  they  commonly  went  by  the  name  of 
Cullen  plates.  At  the  Jermyn  Street  Museum,  London,  an  analysis 
is  given  of  the  Flemish  brass  of  Ludowic  Cortewille  and  his  lady, 
1504.  The  proportions  are  as  follows:  copper,  64  per  cent.; 
zinc,  29!  ;  lead,  i\  ;  and  tin,  3. 


MANUFACTURE. 

The  three  or  four  thousand  brasses  which  have  survived  the 
Reformation  and  the  Civil  War  are  but  a  remnant,  a  tithe  of  those 
that  were  once  laid  down.  Vast  numbers  were  produced  during 
the  14th,  15th,  and  16th  centuries,  and  must  have  given  employ- 


14  MONUMENTAL   BRASSES. 


ment  to  many  engravers.  They  were  in  all  probability  divided 
into  guilds,  established  in  London  and  some  of  the  more  import- 
ant provincial  towns,  such  as  Norwich,  Ipswich,  and  Bristol. 
Peculiarities  of  style  and  design  may  often  be  traced  to  these  pro- 
vincial guilds.  But  the  London  guild  was  probably  by  far  the 
most  important,  and  their  works  were  conveyed  to  all  parts  of 
the  country.  They  had  an  extensive  factory  at  Isleworth,  in 
Middlesex,  but  little  is  known  of  either  it  or  them.  Their  work 
was  that  of  skilled  artists,  working,  however,  from  certain  well- 
defined  types  supplied  by  the  leading  draughtsmen  of  their  day. 
Thus,  although  no  two  brasses  are  exactly  alike,  yet  there  may 
be  very  close  assimilation,  and  a  great  number  of  brasses  of  the 
same  decade  or  half-century  may  so  nearly  resemble  one  another 
as  to  be  indistinguishable  until  they  are  placed  side  by  side. 

Before  reaching  its  destination,  the  engraved  brass  passed  into 
the  hands  of  the  mason,  who  inlaid  it  in  its  stone  slab.  He  was 
in  those  days  usually  an  illiterate  person,  and  it  sometimes  hap- 
pened that  the  inscription  was  placed  upside  down,  through  his 
ignorance  of  the  art  of  reading.  We  have  instances  at  Addington 
and  Kingston-on-Thames,  in  Surrey,  at  Harefield,  in  Middlesex, 
and  many  other  places. 

PROGRESS  AND  DECLINE  OF  THE  ART. 

There  are  some  portions  of  the  designs  which  in  each  age  are 
almost  invariable,  and  serve  to  characterize  the  brasses  of  one  age 
from  those  of  the  next.  The  earliest  brasses  are  imitations  of 
sculptural  effigies  on  a  flat  surface,  and  keep  many  of  their  dis 
tinctive  features.  The  persons  commemorated  are  therefore 
represented  as  in  a  recumbent  position,  with  the  head  resting  upon 
a  helmet  or  cushion,  and  the  feet  against  a  lion,  hound,  or,  in  the 
^ase  of  ladies,  one  or  more  lap-dogs,  while  the  hands  are  joined 
in  the  attitude  of  prayer  upon  the  breast. 

It  is  a  noteworthy  fact  that  the  earliest  brasses  are  the  finest 
and  the  best,  alike  in  boldness  of  design,  in  accuracy  of  workman- 
ship, and  in  excellence  of  material.  The  engraved  plates  are  of 
great  weight  and  thickness,  so  that  it  is  not  only  not  uncommon, 
but  even  usual,  for  the  oldest  examples  to  be  now  in  a  far  better 


ORIGIN    AND    HISTORY   OF    MANUFACTURE.  I  ^ 


state  of  preservation  than  those  which  were  laid  down  hundreds 
of  years  later.  The  results  of  daily  and  weekly  wear  and  tear  will 
be  found  to  be  in  directly  inverse  ratio  to  the  date  of  execution. 
The  history  of  brass-engraving  after  the  close  of  the  14th  century 
is  one  of  rapid  deterioration  and  decline.  Strange  as  this  may 
at  first  seem,  it  will  have  a  different  aspect  if  brasses  are  considered 
in  relation  to  the  fabrics  which  they  assisted  to  adom. 

Gothic  architecture  reached  its  middle  and  best  period  in  the 
decorated  style  of  the  14th  century.  Monumental  brasses  arrived 
at  their  highest  point  of  excellence  at  the  same  time,  and,  de- 
clining with  it,  they  lost  their  beauty  when  Gothic  architecture 
fell  from  its  high  estate,  and  art  was  turned  into  new  and  as  yet 
unexplored  channels.  The  old  objects  of  art,  and  among  them 
brass-engraving  and  glass-painting  and  the  illumination  of  manu- 
scripts, were  flung  aside  that  men  might  plunge  without  let  or 
hindrance  into  the  luxuriance  of  the  Renaissance.  Brass-en^rav- 
ing  lingered  on  through  an  inglorious  old  age,  until  the  upheaval 
of  the  Great  Rebellion,  and  at  the  present  time,  under  the  influence 
of  the  Gothic  Revival,  is  awaking  to  new  life  with  the  new  con- 
ditions of  modern  requirements.  Returning  to  the  special  char- 
acteristics of  each  age,  we  find  various  distinguishing  features. 

Edward  I.  and  Edward  II.      1 272-1 327. 

The  figures  are  usually  life-size,  and  cut  from  very  thick  plates 
of  metal.  The  drawing  is  bold  and  unconventional ;  there  is  an 
entire  absence  of  shading,  and  the  lines  are  deeply  incised. 

Brasses  are  few  in  number,  and  represent  exclusively  knights 
and  their  ladies,  the  former  being  commonly  cross-legged,  and 
shown  with  shields  upon  their  left  arms.  The  inscription  is  set 
round  the  border  of  the  slab,  and  its  Lombardic-Uncial  letters  are 
made  from  separate  pieces  of  metal,  each  set  in  its  own  matrix. 

Under  Edward  II.  canopies  are  first  introduced.  They  are  of 
simple  design,  and  when  used  the  figures  are  generally  rather  less 
than  life-size. 

Edward  III.  and  RicJiard  II.      13 2  7-1 399. 

Brasses  now  attain  their  greatest  magnificence  and  variety,  and 
all  orders  of  the  realm  have  their  representatives.     The  figures  are 


1 6  MONUMENTAL   BRASSES. 

usually  about  four  feet  in  height,  but  examples  can  be  found  of  all 
sizes,  from  a  foot  or  so  upwards.  The  drawing  is  a  little  more 
conventional  than  before,  but  nevertheless  of  great  beauty. 

Knights  are  represented  without  their  shields,  but  still  with  an 
animal  at  the  feet,  and  often  with  crest  and  helmet  at  the  head. 
The  border  inscription,  on  continuous  strips  or  fillets  of  brass,  is 
retained,  and  a  second  inscription  placed  immediately  below  the 
figure  or  figures.  The  language  employed  is  often  Norman-French. 
Floriated  crosses  of  great  beauty  now  appear,  and  enclose  within 
their  heads  figures  or  half-effigies. 

Bracket-brasses  appear  at  the  same  time,  in  which  figures  are 
represented  upon  a  canopied  bracket,  or  sometimes  kneeling  at 
its  foot,  and  supplicating  certain  saints  above. 

This  period  extends  itself  also  into  the  first  few  years  of  the 
next  century. 

House  of  Lancaster.     1399-1461. 

Figures  become  smaller,  but  are  still  carefully  and  accurately 
drawn. 

Children  are  sometimes  given,  boys  and  girls  being  placed  on 
separate  plates  below  their  parents. 

The  border  fillet  is  sometimes  omitted,  but  never  the  foot  in- 
scription. 

Floriated  crosses  give  place  to  crosses  fleury  without  figures, 
and  finally,  together  with  bracket-brasses,  disappear. 

House  of  York.     1461-14S5. 

The  average  size  of  brasses  continues  to  decrease,  and  the  en- 
graving, though  still  excellent,  is  not  so  good  as  formerly. 

Figures  are  attired  in  exaggerated  forms  of  dress,  and  often 
present  the  face  in  profile.  This  was  necessitated  in  order  to 
exhibit  the  butterfly  head-dress  fashionable  among  ladies,  and  the 
husbands  were  obliged  to  follow  suit. 

Knights  are  found  bare-headed,  with  hair  at  first  short,  but 
afterwards  long.  The  recumbent  position  was  sometimes,  indeed 
commonly,  abandoned,  and  a  ground  of  grass  and  flowers  shown  at 
the  feet.  Shading,  in  the  form  of  cross  hatching,  began  to  be  used. 


ORIGIN    AND    HISTORY   OF    MANUFACTURE. 


Shroud  and  skeleton  brasses  came  into  general  use,  especially 
in  the  eastern  counties. 

Henry    VII.  and  Henry    VIII.      14S5-1547. 

Rapid  deterioration  sets  in. 

Figures  are  clumsily  drawn,  and  are  often  out  of  proportion. 

Single  figures  are  usually  given  in  profile. 

Children  have  separate  brasses,  and  chrysoms  {i.e.,  swaddled 
infants)  are  found. 

Mural  brasses  come  into  fashion.  They  are  small,  and  set  in 
slabs,  which  are  adorned  by  canopies  cut  in  low  relief.  The 
principal  figures  kneel  at  desks  or  faldstools,  with  their  children 
marshalled  behind  them. 

English  becomes  the  common  language  of  all  inscriptions, 
except  those  to  ecclesiastics,  which  still  retain  the  Latin. 

The  use  of  shading  increases,  and  all  boldness  is  lost. 

Bad  local  artists  are  now  often  employed. 

Elizabeth  and  James  I.      1 558-1625. 

Art  very  much  debased. 

Thin  plates  of  cheap  metal  are  used,  to  the  ruin  of  the  me- 
morials.    The  lines  are  spoilt  by  an  excess  of  shading. 

The  figures  stand  in  constrained  attitudes  upon  a  pavement  or 
pedestals,  and  portraits  of  the  deceased  are  evidently  intended. 

Small  and  pictorial  rectangular  mural  brasses  become  common. 

Final  Period. 

Brasses  become  very  rare,  and  the  few  that  are  to  be  found 
show  a  remarkable  deterioration  even  from  those  of  James  I. 
reign. 

The  latest  example,  commemorating  Benjamin  Greenwood, 
1773,  at  St.  Mary  Cray,  Kent,  is  of  a  most  degraded  type,  and 
mi#ht  have  been  merely  scratched  upon  the  metal. 


I  8  MONUMENTAL    BRASSES. 


HISTORIC    TREATMENT   OE   BRASSES. 

i.    Before  the  Reformation. 

2.   At  the  Reformation:  Henry  VIII.,  Edward  VI.,  Elizabeth. 
The  Great  Rebellion. 

4.  The  Churchwarden  era. 

5.  Modern  treatment. 


o 


Of  the  first  period  there  is  little  enough  to  say.  Brasses  and 
monuments  in  general  received  the  treatment  they  deserved,  and 
in  times  of  civil  war  the  combatants  fought  only  against  one 
another,  and  not  against  the  dead.  No  disrespect  was  shown  by 
either  Lancastrians  or  Yorkists  to  each  others  tombs. 

In  the  year  1536,  by  order  of  King  Henry  VIII.,  came  the 
dissolution  of  the  lesser  monasteries,  and  in  1539  that  of  the 
greater.  This  was  the  beginning  of  evil  and  sacrilegious  times. 
Priory  chapels  and  conventual  churches  were  sacked  and 
destroyed  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  with  them  of  course 
went  all  the  monuments  they  contained.  Great  numbers  of 
brasses  must  have  perished  among  the  rest ;  but  while  the 
majority  doubtless  found  their  way  to  the  tinker  and  his  melting- 
pot,  a  considerable  number  returned  to  the  hands  of  the  monu- 
mental brass- engraver,  to  reappear  in  a  new  form  on  other  men's 
graves.  Thus  we  find  that  the  brasses  which  were  laid  down  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  16th  century  were  often  cut  from  earlier 
plates,  and  newly  engraved  upon  the  reverse  side. 

But  the  reign  of  Edward  VI.  was  even  more  destructive,  when 
regularly-appointed  commissioners  were  sent  round  to  the  various 
cathedrals  and  parish  churches,  with  orders  to  destroy  or  carry 
away  everything  that  was  popish.  And  it  may  be  noted  that  the 
more  intrinsic  value  anything  possessed,  the  more  papistical  it 
seemed  to  be  in  the  eyes  of  these  worldly  commissioners.  Had 
Edward  VI. 's  reign  continued  but  a  few  years  longer,  we  might 
have  been  obliged  to  count  our  brasses  only  by  hundreds  instead 
of  by  thousands. 

A  good  account  of  these  times  is  found  in  Weever's  "  Ancient 
Funeral  Monuments,"  published  in  163 1,  and  therefore  bat  a  few 


ORTGIN    AND    HISTORY   OF    MANUFACTURE.  19 

)ears  before  the  outbreak  of  the  Great  Rebellion.  He  tells  us 
that — "Toward  the  latter  end  of  the  raigne  of  Henry  the  eight, 
and  throughout  the  whole  raigne  of  Edward  the  sixth,  and  in  the 
beginning  of  Queene  Elizabeth,  certaine  persons  of  every  County 
were  put  in  authority  to  pull  down  and  cast  out  of  all  Churches, 
Roodes,  graven  Images,  Shrines  with  their  reliques,  to  which  the 
ignorant  people  came  flocking  for  adoration.  Or  anything  else 
which  tended  to  idolatrie  and  superstition.  .  .  .  But  the 
foulest  and  most  inhumane  action  of  those  times  was  the 
violation  of  Funerall  Monuments.  Marbles  which  covered  the 
dead  were  digged  up,  and  put  to  other  uses,  Tombes  hackt  and 
hewne  apeeces  ;  Images  or  representations  of  the  defunct,  broken, 
erazed,  cut,  or  dismembred,  Inscriptions  or  Epitaphs,  especially 
if  they  began  with  an  orate  pro  anima,  or  concluded  with  cuius 
anituae  propitietur  Deus.  For  greedinesse  of  the  brasse,  or  for 
that  they  were  thought  to  bee  Antichristian,  pulled  out  from  the 
sepulchres,  and  purloined.  .  .  .  This  barbarous  rage  against 
the  dead  (by  the  Commissioners,  and  others  animated  by  their 
ill  example)  continued  untill  the  second  yeare  of  the  raigne  of 
Queene  Elizabeth,  who,  to  restrain  such  a  savage  cruelty,  caused 
a  Proclamation  to  bee  published  throughout  all  her  dominions." 

This  was  "A  Proclamation  against  breaking  or  defacing  of 
Monuments  of  Antiquitie,  being  set  up  in  churches,  or  other 
public  places,  for  memory,  and  not  for  superstition."  Twelve 
years  later  a  second  proclamation  was  published  by  Elizabeth  to 
the  same  purpose. 

The  Great  Rebellion. — Again  Weever,  though  now  by  anticipa- 
tion, strikes  the  keynote  of  the  treatment  of  brasses  by  the 
Puritan  party, — 

"These  proclamations  (of  Elizabeth)  took  small  effect,  for 
much  what  about  this  time,  there  sprung  up  a  contagious  broode 
of  Scismatickes ;  who,  if  they  might  have  had  their  wills,  would 
not  onely  have  robbed  our  Churches  of  all  their  ornaments  and 
riches,  but  also  have  laid  them  levell  with  the  ground  ;  choosing 
rather  to  exercise  their  devotions,  and  publish  their  erronious 
doctrines,  in  some  emptie  barne,  in  the  woods,  or  common  fields, 
than  in  these  Churches,  which  they  held  to  be  polluted  with  the 
abhominations  of  the  whore  of  Babylon. " 


20  MONUMENTAL    BRASSES. 

When  the  "contagious  broode  of  scismatickes "  at  last  did 
have  their  wills,  churches  naturally  suffered,  and  especially 
cathedrals.  Cromwell  and  his  army  of  "godly  men"  left  their 
mark  wherever  they  went.  Once  more  commissioners  were 
appointed  in  every  county  to  "  reform "  the  churches,  and  so 
thoroughly  was  their  work  performed,  that  scarcely  a  brass  is  now 
to  be  found  in  any  of  the  cathedrals,  and  many  parish  churches 
also  were  stripped  entirely  of  their  memorials.  The  empty  slabs 
with  which  they  often  abound  are  a  melancholy  sight.  Brasses 
were  made  of  valuable  metal,  and  were  sometimes  found  useful 
in  the  casting  of  cannon.  Numerous  instances  occur  in  which 
brasses  were  torn  up  wholesale,  and  sold  by  weight  for  ridicu- 
lously small  sums,  sometimes  at  as  low  a  rate  as  threepence  or 
fourpence  per  pound.  Nor  must  this  ill  treatment  be  laid  wholly 
at  the  door  of  the  Parliamentarians.  Charles  and  his  cavaliers 
were  equally  unscrupulous  in  all  matters  where  money  was  con- 
cerned, and  it  is  only  reasonable  to  suppose  that  when  college 
and  family  plate  was  sacrificed  to  the  king's  use,  the  safety  of 
brasses  which  happened  to  be  under  the  care  of  royalist  parsons 
would  be  greatly  endangered. 

77ie  Churchwarden  Era. — The  worst  ravages  during:  this  dark 
periou,  when  no  care  whatever  was  taken  of  any  kind  of  an- 
tiquities, occurred  from  the  latter  part  of  the  last  century  to  the 
first  part  of  the  present.  Great  numbers  of  brasses  were  lost, 
mutilated,  or  destroyed.  A  few  instances  may  be  given.  A 
correspondent  says  in  the  Gentleman's  Magazine  of  1794:  "The 
venerable  church  of  St.  Alkmond,  in  Shrewsbury,  being  to  be 
taken  down  and  rebuilt,  I  went  to  transcribe  some  old  monu- 
mental inscriptions,  for  fear  they  should  be  destroyed  by  the 
workmen ;  but  to  my  surprise,  there  were  several  inscriptions  on 
brass  plates  gone.  This  led  me  to  make  enquiry,  and  I  found 
they  were  sold,  by  order  of  the  churchwardens,  to  a  brazier ;  on 
which  I  went  and  desired  to  see  the  plates,  and  carefully  copied 
the  inscriptions.  That  is,  all  I  could  find ;  but  there  were  more 
taken  from  the  church,  which  I  fear  are  lost."  His  concluding 
remarks  are  also  worth  quoting :  "  I  am  sorry,  Mr.  Urban, 
we  have  such  Goths  and  Vandals  at  this  time,  who  would  not 
scruple  to  destroy  any  memento  for  the  paltry  sum  of  four  or  five 


ORIGIN    AND    HISTORY    OF    MANUFACTURE.  21 

shillings.  Such  people  must  certainly  be  void  of  humanity,  of 
honour,  and,  I  believe  I  may  safely  add,  of  honesty." 

For  that  same  paltry  sum,  and  at  about  the  same  time,  a 
magnificent  Flemish  brass  was  sold  at  King's  Lynn,  similar  to  the 
two  that  remain  in  that  town,  and  therefore  one  of  the  finest 
engravings  in  Europe. 

Instances  of  such  usage  might  be  multiplied  indefinitely,  and 
in  every  county. 

Modern  Treatment. — In  the  early  years  of  the  Gothic  revival 
brasses  were  treated  almost  as  badly  as  before,  and  even  yet  do 
not  always  receive  , good  treatment.  So-called  "restorations" 
have  passed  in  a  great  wave  over  all  our  parish  churches,  and 
have  in  many  cases  inflicted  irreparable  damage.  Monuments 
have  been  displaced,  and  brasses  torn  from  their  slabs  and  placed 
upon  the  walls  or  in  the  tower  or  vestry,  and  all  for  the  sake  of 
a  uniformity  of  new  flooring,  or  for  an  additional  altar-step,  never 
intended  by  the  original  designers  of  the  building.  Here  again 
hundreds  of  instances  might  be  adduced.  In  1841  the  Church 
of  St.  Giles,  Camberwell,  was  almost  wholly  destroyed  by  fire, 
and  an  entirely  new  edifice  was  built  on  its  site  by  the  late  Sir 
Gilbert  Scott.  The  brasses  were  left  to  the  tender  mercies  of  the 
contractor  and  his  men.  Out  of  half  a  score  of  brasses,  one 
figure,  two  inscriptions,  and  two  shields  escaped,  and  were 
roughly  cemented  to  the  wall  of  the  new  vestry.  The  rest  were 
scattered  broadcast  through  the  parish.  Most  of  them  have 
fortunately  been  since  recovered  and  replaced. 

At  Chipping  Norton,  Oxon,  the  brasses,  loose  in  1S46, 
were  relaid  before  1861,  but  at  the  "restoration"  of  a  few  years 
back  were  once  more  wrenched  from  their  slabs,  broken  in  the 
process,  and  thrown  aside  in  the  parvise. 

But  the  record  of  the  last  few  years  is  not  in  the  main  one 
of  destruction  and  loss,  but  rather  of  recovery  and  restoration. 
Brasses,  formerly  in  private  possession,  are  being  restored  to  the 
churches  from  whence  they  were  abstracted,  as  at  Hereford 
Cathedral.  The  interest  of  brass-rubbers  is  gradually  arousing 
a  corresponding  interest  in  brass-guardians.  Sometimes  missing 
portions  of  mutilated  brasses  have  been  restored,  and  well 
restored  too,  as  at  Cobham    in  Kent,  and  Lingfield,  in  Surrey. 


MON  UM  ENTAL    BRASSES. 


The  beautiful  little  brass  at  East  Wickham,  Kent,  was  restored  in 
1SS7,  in  commemoration  of  the  Queen's  Jubilee. 

Since  188 1  the  National  Society  for  Preserving  the  Memorials 
of  the  Dead  has  been  doing  good  work  in  this  direction,  and  its 
influence  is  rapidly  extending.  It  attempts  carefully  to  watch 
works  carried  on  in  churches,  especially  during  the  progress  of 
"restoration"  and  rebuilding,  and  to  provide  the  repair  of  such 
memorials  as  the  Society  may  think  necessary  or  desirable. 


ii.   fl&afuno  a  Collection. 


METHODS  OF  COPYING. 

Ey  means  of  a  collection  of  rubbings,  it  is  possible  to  bring  to- 
gether and  compare  the  brasses  of  each  era  and  of  each  distinctive 
style.  The  process  of  making  a  rubbing  is  a  purely  mechanical 
one,  and  can  be  performed  by  persons  altogether  unskilled  ir^ 
drawing.  As  in  other  things,  however,  a  little  practical  experi- 
ence is  needed  before  the  collector  can  expect  his  rubbings  to  be 
quite  up  to  the  mark.     Practice  makes  perfect. 

The  method  usually  adopted  is  as  follows  : — Purchase  at  a 
paper-hanger's  shop  a  roll  of  white  lining  or  ceiling  paper,  of 
medium  thickness  and  quality.  If  the  paper  is  too  thin,  it  will 
tear  easily,  and  if  too  thick  it  will  not  press  sufficiently  into  the 
incised  lines  of  the  brass,  and  so  will  give  only  a  bleared  rubbing. 
If  the  quality  is  poor,  the  paper  will  turn  a  dirty  yellow  colour, 
especially  after  being  exposed  to  the  light.  It  is  sold  in  pieces  of 
twelve  yards  each,  and  in  two  widths,  viz.,  22  inches  and  30  inches. 
Wider  paper  is  rarely  met  with,  and  is  exceedingly  inconvenient 
to  carry  about.  When  a  brass  is  more  than  30  inches  wide,  it  must 
be  rubbed  in  separate  pieces,  which  may  afterwards  be  pasted 
together.  Some  few  collectors  prefer  to  use  tinted  paper,  but  it 
is  not  so  satisfactory  as  white. 

The  rubbing  is  performed  with  heelball,  a  composition  of  bees- 
wax, tallo*v,  and  lamp-black,  which  is  sold  by  leather-cutters  (not 
saddlers)  in  small  cakes  about  as  large  as  a  penny.  It  is  used  by 
cobblers,  and  can  sometimes  be  bought  at  their  shops.  The  best 
make  is  by  Ullathorne,  and  can  be  procured  everywhere.  He  also 
sells  larger  cakes,  of  about  three  inches  in  diameter,  which  will  often 
be  found  useful.    Heelball  is  either  hard,  medium,  or  soft,  according 

23 


24  MONUMENTAL   BRASSES. 

to  the  amount  of  tallow  it  contains.  The  quality  can  always  be 
ascertained  by  application  of  the  thumb-nail.  It  is  as  well  to  be 
provided  with  all  three  kinds,  as  some  brasses  require  rather  dif- 
ferent treatment  to  others.  The  softest  heelball  cannot  be  used 
in  hot  weather,  since  it  has  a  tendency  to  melt. 

With  a  not  too  hard  nail-brush  and  a  duster  in  his  pocket,  the 
collector  is  now  equipped  for  work,  and  may  attempt  his  first 
brass.  A  preliminary  and  very  necessary  operation  is  to  carefully 
brush  and  dust  away  every  speck  of  dirt  from  the  surface  of  the 
brass.  If  this  is  not  done,  or  any  grits  are  left,  the  paper  is  sure 
to  tear  before  the  rubbing  is  half  completed.  We  will  first  suppose 
the  brass  to  be  upon  the  pavement  of  the  church,  or  upon  the  flat 
surface  of  an  altar-tomb.  The  roll  of  paper  must  be  laid  upon  it, 
and  its  upper  edge  firmly  secured  by  weights,  books,  or  hassocks; 
the  rest  of  the  paper  can  be  unrolled  as  it  is  needed.  The  heel- 
ball  must  be  rubbed  evenly  over  the  whole  brass,  when  a  perfect 
impression  will  be  obtained,  the  incised  lines  appearing  white. 
Greater  clearness  will  often  be  gained  by  first  pressing  the  paper 
into  the  lines.  This  can  be  done  by  the  hand,  or  better  by  taking 
off  the  boots  and  walking  up  and  down  upon  the  brass. 

If  the  brass  is  small  and  finely  engraved,  covered  with  diaper 
work  or  hatching,  it  will  be  well  to  use  the  hardest  heelball. 
Longer  time  and  more  trouble  will  be  needed  to  get  a  black 
rubbing,  but  the  lines  will  be  sharper,  and  the  whole  capable  of 
receiving  a  beautiful  polish  by  being  simply  rubbed  over  with  a 
handkerchief.  A  heelball  rubbing  is  quite  fixed,  and  will  not 
smear.  If  the  brass  has  much  plain  surface,  a  uniform  blackness 
can  be  far  more  easily  obtained  with  softer  heelball.  Care  should 
be  taken  not  to  rub  beyond  the  brass  over  the  stone  slab,  and  so 
spoil  the  outline.  Some,  however,  prefer  to  ignore  the  outline, 
and  afterwards  to  cut  out  and  mount  the  rubbing.  Should  the 
brass  be  fixed  upon  the  wall,  it  will  be  necessary  to  fasten  up  the 
paper  in  some  way.  Drawing-pins  are  not  available  against  a 
stone  wall,  and  other  means  must  therefore  be  found.  Most  col- 
lectors use  wafers.  This  is  the  cleanest  and  most  convenient  way. 
Some  prefer  soft  soap,  which  messes  alike  both  paper  and  wall ; 
others  powdered  gum,  to  be  moistened  in  the  hand.  For  carrying 
the  materials,  it  is  as  well  to  have  some  sort  of  case,  made  of 


MAKING   A   COLLECTION.  25 

waterproof,  to  sling  over  the  back.  A  needle  case  and  an 
umbrella  cover  will  suggest  two  of  the  forms  which  it  may  take. 

The  heelball  method  has  been  thus  fully  described,  because  it 
is  the  one  most  usually  adopted,  and  is  also  the  simplest.  It  was 
not,  however,  discovered  until  some  years  after  brasses  began  to 
be  copied,  and  collections  of  their  impressions  to  be  made.  In 
about  the  year  1780,  Craven  Ord,  Sir  John  Cullum,  and  the  Rev. 
Thomas  Cole  commenced  the  first  known  collection,  and  their 
method  of  procedure  was  as  follows  : — Printers'  ink  was  poured 
upon  the  brass,  and  wiped  into  all  its  lines ;  damped  paper  was 
then  laid  upon  it  and  pressed  well  in,  producing  a  printed  fac- 
simile, though  of  course  the  position  of  the  brass  was  reversed. 
This  was  a  great  disadvantage,  especially  as  it  rendered  illegible 
all  the  inscriptions.  The  process  has  not  been  made  use  of  at  all 
in  late  years,  and  it  is  doubtful  whether  many  incumbents  could 
be  found  who  would  permit  the  pavements  of  their  churches  to  be 
made  in  the  mess  which  it  would  necessarily  entail. 

At  the  death  of  Craven  Ord,  in  1830,  his  collection  was  pur- 
chased by  the  late  Francis  Douce  for  ,£43,  and  by  him  bequeathed 
to  the  British  Museum,  where  they  were  deposited  in  1834. 

While  Ord  and  his  friends  were  printing,  other  collectors  began 
to  make  use  of  blacklead  in  the  same  manner  in  which  heelball  is 
now  used.  The  result  was  very  bad,  for  the  rubbings  would  soon 
become  so  smudgy  and  faint  as  to  be  almost  worthless. 

The  Messrs.  Waller  next  introduced  a  new  method.  Their  plan 
was  to  prepare  rubbers  of  wash-leather,  stiffened  with  paper,  of  a 
triangular  shape,  and  primed  with  a  thin  paste  formed  of  very  fine 
powdered  blacklead  mixed  with  the  best  linseed  oil.  The  rub- 
bings were  taken  on  stout  tissue  paper.  This  method  is  still  in 
use,  and  has  certain  advantages.  An  accurate  rubbing  can  be 
made  in  a  few  minutes,  which  would  perhaps  take  an  hour  or  more 
if  done  with  heelball.  It  is,  however,  very  faint,  and  is  absolutely 
useless  for  exhibition. 

Another  method  is  mentioned  by  Albert  Way  in  the  Archao- 

al  Journal  of  September,  1844.     He  says  that  some  collectors 

prefer  the  use  of  rubbers  of  soft  black  leather,  the  waste  pieces 

which  remain  in  the  shoemaker's  workshop,  especially  those  parts 

which  are  most  strungly  imbued   with   the  "dubbing,"  or   black 


26  MONUMENTAL   BRASSES. 

unctuous  compound,  with  which  the  skins  are  dressed  by  the 
curriers.  The  plan  has  not  found  general  favour  with  brass- 
rubbers,  though  it  stands  high  in  the  favour  of  campanologists, 
being  admirably  suited  for  taking  rubbings  of  the  inscriptions  and 
devices  upon  church  bells. 

In  1844  there  appeared  Richardson's  Metallic  Rubber,  a 
bronze-coloured  composition,  intended  to  give  to  the  rubbing  the 
appearance  of  the  brass  itself.  It  was  intended  to  be  used  upon 
a  dark  paper,  so  that  the  lines  might  be  black  and  the  surface 
the  colour  of  the  original.  It  was  used  in  the  same  way  as  heel- 
ball.  In  giving  an  almost  perfect  facsimile  of  the  brass,  one  of 
the  greatest  advantages  of  aheelball  rubbing  was  at  once  lost.  A 
rubbing  in  black  and  white  is  a  great  deal  clearer  than  the  brass 
from  which  it  is  rubbed,  and  this  clearness  is  of  course  lost  by  the 
use  of  a  bronze  rubber. 

If  a  number  of  copies  are  wanted  of  any  single  brass,  litho- 
graphic transfer  paper  may  be  used  with  lithographic  crayons. 
The  rubbing  thus  obtained  can  be  transferred  to  stone  or  zinc, 
and  other  copies  printed  from  it. 


In  searching  for  brasses  in  a  church  where  such  are  believed 
to  be,  the  following  hints,  suggested  by  the  Cambridge  University 
Association  of  Brass  Collectors,  will  be  found  useful.  They  also 
suggest  notes  which  may  be  taken  as  to  measurements  and  position. 
They  are  perhaps  more  elaborate  than  are  generally  necessary, 
being  drawn  up  especially  in  reference  to  full  accounts  of  the 
brasses  of  certain  counties  or  districts. 

1.  All  brasses,  including  mere  inscriptions,  to  end  of  iSth  century  required. 

2.  Search  the  Church  as  thoroughly  as  possible,  wall.-,  and  floor  {taking  up 
all  cocoanut  matting),  not  omitting  vestry,  organ-loft,  all  chantries,  side- 
chapels,  etc. 

3.  State  all  component  parts  of  extant  Brasses — viz.,  Figures,  Children, 
Canopies,  Shields  of  Arms,  Foot  Inscriptions,  Border  Fillets,  Scrolls,  Labels, 
Mottoes,  etc.,  attending  especially  to  the  following  details  : — 

figures.  —  Full  description  of  all  garments,  ornaments,  armour,  attitude 
(whether  kneeling  or  standing,  etc.,  and  to  which  side)  ;  all  imper- 
fections or  peculiarities  of  engraving,  mutilations,  etc  ,  slight  or 
serious,  and  in  what  part ;  whether  feet  to  East  or  otherwise  ;  whether 
worn  or  in  good  preservation. 

The  exact  dimensions  (extreme  length  and  breadth).  With  regard 
to  Children  enumerate  sons,  and  daughters,  how  dressed,  how  dis- 
posed, in  what  attitude,  etc.  (v.  hints  for  Figures  sup.). 


MAKING    A   COLLECTION1.  2J 

Canopies. — Whether  of  I,  2,  or  3  pediments  ;  mutilations,  if  any  ;  Exact 
Dimensions  (tip  of  highest  pinnacle  to  base,  and  from  outside  of  shaft 
to  ditto). 

Border  Fillets. — Whether  with  plain  angles,  or  having,  and  in  what 
order,  the  Evangelistic  Symbols  (eagle,  St.  Jno. ;  angel,  St.  Matth.  ; 
lion,  St.  Mark  ;  ox,  St.  Lu. ). 

An  exact  copy  of  the  Inscription  (with  all  contractions  and  errors  of 
spelling,  peculiarities  in  use  of  small  or  capital  letters,  etc.),  with  a 
notice  of  the  character  employed  (whether  incised  or  raised,  whether 
in  English  capitals  or  cursive,  black  letter,  Lombardic-Uncial,  etc., 
etc.,  and  any  peculiarities  generally,  any  flaws  or  mutilations,  also 
the  distribution  of  the  words  around  the  4  strips  of  the  border  fillet. 
If  the  Brass  is  on  an  altar-tomb,  state  whether  Inscription  is  in 
chamfer  (slanting  edge)  or  flat. 

Inscriptions,  at  feet  of  figures,  or  separate,  v.  hints  on  Border  Fillets. 
Dimension  r  of  the  plate  in  all  cases. 

Shields  of  Arms. — An  heraldic  description  (tinctures  freq.  to  be  found 
from  other  shields  of  the  same  arms  on  tombs,  monuments,  in  painted 
windows,  affixed  to  roof  beams,  etc.,  etc). 
In  all  cases,  the  dimensions  of  the  whole  composition  (extreme  length   and 
breadth)  arc  essential ;  as  many  oth  r  measurements  as  possible  are  desired. 

4.  Especially  of  Shie'ds,  Inscriptions,  and  Figures,  a  rubbing,  however, 
perfunctory,  would  be  welcomed  in  lien  of  a.  full  description. 

5.  The  position  of  the  Brass  (mural,  floor,  or  on  altar-tomb,  in  nave, 
chancel,  aisle,  or  chantries,  etc.)  to  be  given,  always  in  terms  of  the  cardinal 
points,  with  other  details,  where  possible,  and  measure  nents,  such  as  height 
from  ground,  or  situation  (under  pews,  etc.,  wholly  or  partly,  etc.). 

6.  In  all  cases  the  heraldic  terms,  dexter  and  sinister  (for  1..  hand  and  R. 
hand  respectively)  to  be  used — e.g.,  in  Border  Fillets,  "top-strip,  sinister- 
strip,  bottom-strip,  dexter-strip,"  is  the  order. 

7.  Interview  the  Incumbent,  wherever  possible,  for  information  of  loose  or 
lost  brasses,  details  of  personages  commemorated  in  extant  brasses,  or  history 
of  the  brasses  themselves,  etc.,  etc.,  and  for  name  of  the  patron  saint  of 
church,  and  side-chapels,  etc.,  wherein  is  the  brass. 

8.  Mention  should  he  made  of  all  Matrices,  stating  position,  etc.,  original 
parts,  as  far  as  recognisable  ;  if  large,  dimensions,  and  all  description  generally, 
will  be  welcome. 

Brass-rubbings  are  greatly  improved  by  being  mounted,  but  the 
process  of  mounting  occupies  a  good  deal  of  time  and  trouble. 
Some  collectors  merely  paste  their  rubbings  upon  thin  linen  or 
canvas.  Others  first  cut  them  out  and  paste  them  on  tinted 
paper,  and  then  upon  canvas,  adding  rollers  at  the  top  and 
bottom.  Fresh  paper  must  always  be  stretched  before  use,  or  it 
will  do  so  afterwards,  and  spoil  the  appearance  of  the  rubbing. 
The  name,  date  and  origin  of  the  brass  may  be  very  neatly  in- 
scribed by  means  of  stencil  plates.  The  mounted  rubbings  can 
be  sized  and  varnished  without  damage.  A  binding  of  coloured 
braid  gives  a  high  finish  to  the  whole. 


23 


MONUMENTAL   BRASSES. 


HOW  TO  ARRANGE  A  COLLECTION  OF  RUBBINGS. 

Brass-rubbings  are  necessarily  bulky,  and  the  young  collector 
will  soon  besrin  to  be  in  difficulties  about  their  bestowal.  The 
walls  of  his  room  or  the  family  staircase  are  no  longer  spacious 
enough  to  display  his  newer  acquisitions.  Where  and  how  can 
he  conveniently  keep  them?  He  has  a  choice  of  several  methods, 
each  with  its  own  peculiar  advantages.  Some  method,  however, 
he  must  adopt,  or  he  will  never  be  able  to  pick  out  a  rubbing 
which  he  may  want  without  struggling  helplessly  through  the 
whole  collection. 

As  a  first  step,  whatever  method  of  arrangement  be  adopted, 
he  must  keep  a  careful  catalogue, — or  better  still,  two  catalogues. 

The  name  of  the  church  from  which  the  rubbing  comes,  and 
its  number  in  the  catalogue,  must  be  written  upon  it.  If  this  is 
omitted,  the  collector  will  before  long  forget  to  which  churches 
his  brasses  belong,  confusing  them  one  with  another. 

It  is  a  great  advantage  to  keep  two  catalogues. 

i.  A  small  one,  to  carry  in  the  pocket.  It  should  contain  the 
following  information  : — 

(a)  The   name  of  the  church,  town,  or  village,  and  county 

where  the  brass  is  to  be  found. 
(/')  The  name  of  the  person  or  persons  commemorated,  or, 

failing  that,  the  class  to  which  it  belongs  :  knight,  lady, 

civilian,  priest,  etc. 

(c)  The  date  or  approximate  date  of  the  brass. 

(d)  The  date  of  the  rubbing. 

Example  :  — 


245- 
246. 
247. 


Haccombe 
Balsham. 

Goring. 


Devon.  St.  lilaize. 
Cambs. I  Holy  Tiin. 
Oxon.  ISt.  Thomas 


Nich.  Carevv,  Esq. 

J.  Llodwell,  Priest. 

A  lady. 


1469 
1462. 
1401. 


18  Aug.,  86. 
11  Dec,  86. 
15  July,  86. 


2.  The  larger  catalogue,  to  which  the  smaller  is  a  key,  should 
be  modelled  after  the  plan  of  the  Oxford  Architectural  Society's 
Manual. 

A  description  and  full  particulars  should  be  given,  with  measure- 
met)  ts,  exact  position,  coats-of-arms,  etc. 

An  example  will  best  explain  the  method. 


sir  tfriiiiBiuluas  uumr  mftog  fttunasrf  BtiitofeX^Marti5{)fit*r?tfitletHn^ 


Sik  Willtam  Harper  and  Wife,  1573. 

St.  Paul's,   liedfoid. 


MAKING   A   COLLECTION.  3  I 

No.  355. 

a.d.  1573.    Sir  CHilliam  fijarpcr  ai-.t)  OLlffc. 

St.  raid's,  Bedford. 

Position  — On  an  altar-tomb  against  the  south  wall  of  the  south  chapel  of  the 
choir. 

Component  Parts. — Two  figures,  each  about  20  in.  in  length,  a  black  letter 
inscription  of  five  lines,  and  a  coat-of-arms. 

Description. — The  knight  in  Elizabethan  armour,  with  mail-skirt  protected  by 
tas-ets  etc.  Sword  and  dagger  to  left  and  right.  Over  all,  a  cloak, 
fastened  at  the  neck  by  three  buttons  over  the  right  shoulder.  Head 
bare,  but  resting  on  helmet.     Small  luff. 

Lady  in  quilted  petticoat  and  open  dress  with  small  waist  sash.    Sleeves 
with  large  diagonal  slashes.     Queen  Mary  head-dress  and  small  ruff. 

Coat-of-Arms. — Harper,  now  borne  by  Bedford  Grammar  School.  [Unless 
well  known,  it  is  necessary  to  describe  the  coat.] 

Inscription. —  ^'Obiit  27°  die  Februarii.  1573.     Alio  aetatis  suae  77°  | 

Hereunder  Iieth  buried  the  body  of  Sir  William  Harper  knight  Alder- 
man and  1  late  Lorde  Maior  of  the  Citie  of  London  withe  dame  Mar- 
garett  his  last  wife  wch  |  Sir  William  was  borne  in  this  towne  of  Bedford, 
and  here  loaded  &  gave  lands  |  for  the  mayntenance  of  a  Cramer  Schoole. 
[The  I  indicates  the  end  of  a  line.] 

Catalogue-keeping  is  of  course  troublesome,  but  should  be 
persevered  in,  for  in  no  other  way  is  it  possible  to  get  so  clear  an 
idea  of  the  peculiarities  of  armour  and  costume.  The  eye  is  thus 
trained  to  see  minute  differences  which  would  otherwise  escape 
notice,  and  the  mind  to  report  them  with  accuracy. 

The  preliminary  question  of  a  catalogue  being  decided,  it  be- 
comes necessary  to  settle  on  a  system  of  classification. 

Three  systems  may  be  noticed  ;  the  choice  of  one  of  which 
must  be  left  to  the  collector. 

1.  The  obvious  one  of  setting  down  each  rubbing  in  order,  as  it 
is  added  to  the  collection,  irrespective  of  date,  place,  or  character. 
This  has  its  advantage  in  the  ease  with  which  the  catalogue  can 
be  kept.  The  rubbings  should  then  be  kept  in  rolls  of  ten  or  a 
dozen  together,  each  roll  carefully  marked.  Particular  rubbings 
may  be  easily  found  by  reference  to  the  catalogues. 

2.  Division  into  classes.  This  is  perhaps  the  best  way  to 
arrange  a  large  collection,  but  is  applicable  also  to  small  ones. 
The  head  divisions  are,  of  course,  armed  knights  and  esquires, 
priests,  ladies,  civilians,  and  miscellaneous  brasses,  such  as  skele- 


32  MONUMENTAL    BRASSES. 

tons  and  shroud-brasses,  crosses,  brasses  of  foreign  workmanship, 
etc.  They  may  be  sub-divided  to  almost  any  extent  as  the  col- 
lection grows,  the  natural  sub-divisions  being  generally  those  of 
date  and  style.  Great  stress  must  be  laid  on  the  accurate  ticket- 
ing of  every  roll. 

A  modification  of  this  method  is  to  divide  brasses  simply 
according  to  date.  It  may  be  done  in  two  ways  :  (i.)  By  classing 
together  all  the  brasses  of  the  same  century,  sub-dividing  them  by 
scores  or  decades  of  years,  (ii.)  By  classing  together  all  the 
brasses  of  the  same  reign,  sub-dividing  them  by  great  historical 
events. 

For  the  historian  this  method  has  decided  advantages,  but  at 
the  same  time  is  a  little  awkward  in  practice.  Combined  with 
the  class-division  it  becomes  exceedingly  useful. 

3.  Classification  by  counties  or  other  local  divisions.  Generally 
a  clumsy  method,  and  useful  only  when  the  aim  of  the  collector 
is  to  complete  his  series  for  a  few  particular  counties. 

Such  a  quantity  of  poorly  engraved  and  poorly  designed  brasses 
of  the  1 6th  and  17th  centuries  are  in  existence,  that  no  ordinary 
collector  would  care  to  encumber  himself  with  a  large  number  of 
them.  They  so  nearly  resemble  one  another  in  many  instances, 
that  a  few  typical  examples  are  all  that  are  needed. 

With  so  many  methods  of  classification  open  to  him,  it  would 
be  well  for  the  collector,  before  making  choice  of  any  one  of 
them,  to  ask  himself  what  is  his  real  reason  for  collecting.  The 
answer  may  at  once  decide  him  to  adopt  one  or  other  method ; 
hut  probably  his  reasons  are  many  and  various,  and  will  not 
help  him.  In  that  case  it  may  on  the  whole  be  more  convenient 
to  begin  with  the  first  method,  and  to  change  to  the  second  as 
soon  as  his  collection  is  sufficiently  large. 

The  collection  at  the  British  Museum  is  contained  in  half- 
leather  albums  of  enormous  size,  some  of  them  ten  feet  or  more 
in  height.  Their  great  cost  precludes  their  use  by  the  private 
collector,  unless  he  is  possessed  of  an  ample  income.  In  almost 
all  cases  he  must  be  content  with  a  large  cupboard  in  which  to 
keep  his  rolls,  and  if  they  are  carefully  arranged,  they  will  be  quite 
as  accessible  as  if  they  were  in  albums. 


-  a 


£ 


i. 


--€ 


-  -  e 


f 


<r.  The  Amice. 

b.  The  Apparels  of  the  Alb 

c.  The  Chasuble. 
<£  The  Maniple. 


Priest  in  Eucharistic  Vestments. 

c.  The  Stole. 

f.  The  Alb. 

g.  The  Apparel  of  the  Alb. 


31 


in.  Classes  of  Effigies. 


PRIESTS. 

Perhaps  the  most  interesting  classes  of  effigies  are  those  which 
represent  respectively  Sir  Priest  and  Sir  Knight.  Of  these  it  is 
more  convenient  to  take  Sir  Priest  first,  because  his  vestments  are 
an  inheritance  from  a  far  earlier  age,  identical  in  name  and  use, 
though  not  in  shape  and  material,  with  those  worn  centuries 
before,  and  because  they  underwent  no  changes,  except  in  form, 
during  the  period  of  Brasses  down  to  the  Reformation.  More- 
over, the  earliest  brass  in  existence,  viz.,  a.d.  1231,  represents  one 
of  the  priestly  order,  the  German  bishop  Ysowilpe,  still  lying  in 
the  Church  of  St.  Andrew,  at  Verden.  The  clergy  were  divided 
into  two  great  classes  : — 

1.  The  Minor  Orders. 

Door-keeper  ;  symbol,  a  key. 

Exorcist ;  symbol,  a  holy  water-pot. 

Lector ;  symbol,  a  book. 

Acolyte  ;  symbol,  a  candle. 
All  orders  received  the  tonsure,  and  all  wore  the  same  dres?, 
viz.,  the  long  white  all?,  with  the  single  exception,  and  that  only 
in  parish  churches,  of  the  sexton,  who  ranked  as  a  door-keeper. 

2.  The  Major  Orders. 

Subdivided  into  two  divisions  : 

(a)   The  Sub-deacon,  whose  symbol  was  an  ewer  and  basin, 
and  who  was  sometimes  also  called  the  EpistoLr 
and  the  Pattener  (i.e.,  he  who  held  up  the  empty 
patten). 
The  Deacon,  or  Gospeller. 
The  Priest. 


36 


MONUMENTAL    BRASSES. 


(/>)   The  Lords  Spiritual,  bishops  and  archbishops,  with 

priors  and  abbots. 

The  mediaeval  vestments  of  the  Western  Church  received  their 

full  development  before  the  ninth  century.     From  the  beginning 

of  the  Chiistian  era  there  had  been  three  great  tendencies  always 

exerting  themselves  on  the  dress  of  the  clergy  : — 

(a)  For  a  real  article  of  dress  to  become  nothing  more  than 

a  useless,  though  symbolic,  ornament 
(/;)  For  a  plain  white  linen  vestment  to  become  gorgeous  in 

colour  and  material. 
'(c)  For  the  lower  orders  of  the  clergy  gradually  to  assume 
the  vestments  properly  belonging  to  the  higher  ranks. 
We  are  not,  'however,  concerned  with  the  various  stages  through 
which  the  different  vestments  passed,  but  must  take  them  as  we 
find  them  in  the  14th  century. 

The  usual  vestments  which  appear  in  the  brasses  of  parish 
priests  are  those  worn  at  the  celebration  of  the  Holy  Eucharist, 
or  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass.  They  consisted  of  the  amice,  alb,  girdle, 
stole,  maniple,  and,  most  important  of  all,  the  chasuble. 

(1)  The  Amice  was  originally  a  hood,  but  soon  became  a  mer? 
neckerchief,  or  square  of  silk,  with  a  cross  embroidered  upon  it, 

and  with  a  border  sewn  along 


the  edge  to  which  its  strings 
were  fastened.  This  border 
was  called  an  apparel,  a  name 
given  to  any  piece  of  em- 
broidery sewn  upon  a  vest- 
ment, and  it  was  often  orna- 
mented with  gold,  silver,  and 
jewels.  The  name  orphrey  is 
frequently  used  interchange- 
ably with  apparel  for  the  same 


+1+ 

+ 

+ 

+ 

+ 

+ 

+ 

+1+ 

* 

+■ 

*■ 

f- 

+ 

*< 

The  Amice. 


kind  of  work,  but  more  often  it  implies  a  narrower  strip  of  stuff, 
such  as  will  be  found  down  the  centre  and  round  the  edge  of  the 
chasuble.  The  apparel  of  the  amice  is  never  called  an  orphrey, 
and  in  brasses  always  appears  like  a  broad  collar. 

(2)  The  Alb  was  a  linen  vestment  reaching  to  the  feet,  with 
close  sleeves,  and  ornamented  with  six  orphreys,  or  apparels,  a 


CLASS KS   OF   EFFIGIES.  $7 

square  being  sewn  to  the  lower  hem  both  in  front  and  behind, 
while  the  other  four  adorned  the  back,  breast,  and  cuffs.  Those 
on  the  cuffs  sometimes,  in  the  earlier  examples,  entirely  encircle 
the  sleeve,  as  at  Horsmonden,  Kent,  c.  1330,  and  Wensley,  Yorks, 
c.  1360,  but  usually  only  cover  the  upper  part.  The  alb  was  con- 
fined at  the  waist  by  a  girdle  or  belt,  and  was  not  open  in  front. 
1  n  a  cathedral  church  all  orders  wore  it,  and  most  the  amice  also. 
Angels  are  almost  invariably  represented  in  this  attire. 

(3)  The  Stole,  almost  entirely  confined  to  the  higher  orders, 
was  a  long  and  richly-embroidered  band  passed  round  the  back 
of  the  neck  and  hanging  down  in  front.  It  was  crossed  over  the 
breast,  and  was  kept  in  position  by  the  girdle.  Bishops  usually 
wore  the  stole  straight,  and  by  deacons  it  was  only  worn  over 
the  left  shoulder.  Its  fringed  ends,  appearing  from  beneath  the 
chasuble,  are  alone  seen  in  brasses,  with  a  few  exceptions,  as  at? 
Horsham,  Sussex,  and  Sudborough,  Northants. 

(4)  The  Maniple,  once  a  napkin,  and  intended  for  use  as  such, 
at  about  the  time  of  the  Norman  Conquest  dwindled  down  to  a 
silk  and  gold  strip,  very  similar  to  one  of  the  ends  of  the  stole. 
It  was  hooked  or  buttoned  to  the  sleeve  of  the  left  arm. 

(5)  The  Chasuble  was  me  distinctive  mark  of  a  priest.  It  was 
a  large  oval  vestment,  sometimes  slightly  pointed,  with  an  aperture 
in  the  middle  for  the  head.  It  was  put  on  over  all  the  other 
vestments,  and  was  originally  of  a  soft  and  pliable  material.  It 
was  usually  ornamented  in  front  and  behind  with  a  Y-shaped 
orphrey,  which  in  later  times  became  a  straight-armed  cross. 

These  were  the  vestments  which  were  worn  by  the  priest  at  the 
altar,  and  in  which  he  was  commonly  buried.  He  is  frequently 
represented  in  brasses  as  holding  a  chalice  and  wafer,  and  these 
two  were  often  buried  with  him,  being  laid  upon  his  breast.  In 
most  instances  the  chalice  is  held  in  the  hands,  but  there  are 
exceptions,  as  at  Wensley,  in  Yorkshire.  Brasses  of  chasublcd 
priests  are  common  everywhere,  and  are  usually  of  small  size,  with 
an  average  height  of  perhaps  20  inches. 

Notable  Examples  : — 

Lawrence  de  St.  Maur,  Higham  Ferrers,  Northants,  1337.      Large. 
John  de  Grovehurst,  Horsemonden,  Kent,  c.  1340.     Large. 
Thomas  do  Hoiton,  North  Minims,  Herts,  r.   1  }oo. 


38  MONUMENTAL   BRASSES. 

Simon  tie  Wensley  (name  uncertain),  Wensley,  Yorks,  c.  1360.     Large. 
Priest  (unknown),  Shottesbroke,  Berks,  c.  1370.     Large. 
Priest  (unknown),  Fulbourn,  Cambs,  c.  1370. 

Episcopal   Vestments. 

The  higher  orders,  bishops,  abbots,  and  archbishops,  were  en- 
titled to  wear  all  that  could  be  worn  by  their  subordinates,  together 
with  certain  additional  and  distinctive  vestments.  Bishops  and 
mitred  abbots  were  of  equal  rank,  and  cannot  be  distinguished  by 
their  dress.  It  was  once  supposed  that,  contrary  to  the  usage 
of  a  bishop,  an  abbot  held  his  pastoral  staff  with  the  crook  turned 
inwards,  to  signify  that  he  had  no  jurisdiction  outside  his  monas- 
tery. This,  however,  has  no  support  from  existing  effigies,  in 
which  the  staff  is  held  indifferently  either  way. 

In  addition  to  the  eucharistic  vestments  already  enumerated, 
bishops  wore  both — 

1.  The  Tunicle  of  the  sub-deacon,  and 

2.  The  Dalmatic  of  the  deacon. 

These  reached  to  the  knee,  and  were  alike  in  shape  and  material. 
They  were  fringed,  and  the  latter  often  richly  embroidered.  Both 
were  slit  up  for  a  short  distance  at  the  sides.  The  tunicle  is  repre- 
sented as  rather  the  longer  of  the  two,  in  order  that  both  may 
be  seen.  They  were  worn  under  the  chasuble,  while  the  stole 
was  sometimes  below  them,  as  at  Westminster  Abbey,  Burweil, 
Cambs,  and  New  College,  Oxford ;  and  sometimes  below  only  the 
dalmatic,  but  above  the  tunicle,  as  at  Ely  Cathedral.  Other  epis- 
copal insignia  are  the  mitre,  sandals,  gloves,  ring,  and  pastoral 
staff. 

3.  The  Mitre  began  as  a  plain  white  linen  or  fur  skull-cap,  with 
long  strings.  It  attained  the  form  by  which  we  know  it  during 
the  1 2th  or  13th  century,  and  its  further  developments  were  slight. 
In  the  earlier  examples  it  is  low  in  height  and  without  crockets, 
which  were  first  added  at  the  end  of  the  15th  century.  Two 
iiifulcc  or  lappets,  richly  embroidered  strips  of  silk,  were  attached 
to  the  lower  edge  of  the  mitre,  and  hung  down  one  behind  each 
ear.  They  may  be  seen  in  the  brasses  of  Archbishop  Grenfeld, 
at  York,  13 15,  and  of  Bishop  Boothe,  at  East  Horsley,  Surrey, 
1478. 


CLASSES   OF   EFFIGIES. 


39 


[g30   <§>   Q(o] 


Mitre,  14th  Century 


Crocketed  Mitre,  16th  Century. 


4.  The  Sandals  were  pointed  slippers  ornamented  by  three 
strips  of  embroidery,  forming  a  sort  of  orphrey. 

5.  The  Gloves  were  of  white  netted  silk,  with  a  jewelled  orna- 
ment upon  the  back.  The  middle  finger  of  the  right  hand  was 
cut  away,  in  order  to  show  the  episcopal  ring,  which  was  worn 
below  a  guard  upon  that  finger. 

6.  The  Pastoral  Staff  terminates  in  a  heavy  crook,  ornamented 
with  jewels,  and  frequently  containing  the  symbol  of  the  lamb  and 
banner.  To  it  is  often  attached  a  scarf,  known  as  the  vexillum, 
and  supposed  to  be  derived  from  the  Labarum,  or  Standard,  of 
the  first  Christian  emperor,  Constantine  the  Great.  The  end  of 
the  staff  is  furnished  with  a  small  spike. 

Archbishops  used  the  same  vestments  as  bishops,  with  one 
addition  and  one  alteration  : — 

1.  The  Tall,  a  circle  of  white  lambswool,  adorned  with  crosses, 
and  with  pendant  and  weighted  ends  in  front  and  behind,  was 
thrown  over  the  shoulders  above  the  chasuble.  Its  history  is 
interesting,  since  it  was  first  conferred  as  a  mark  of  distinction  by 
the  early  Byzantine  emperors  upon  the  patriarchs  of  Constanti- 
nople. Being  adopted  in  the  West,  it  became  the  special  pre- 
rogative of  the  pope  to  confer  this  vestment,  and  the  various 
metropolitans  always  received  it  straight  from  the  chair  of  St. 
Peter. 

2.  The  Crazier  was  substituted  for  the  pastoral  staff.  The 
difference  lay  in  the  head,  which  instead  of  a  crook  became  a 
cross,  and  sometimes  a  crucifix,  as  at  New  College,  Oxford. 


40  MONUMENTAL   BRASSES. 


Examples  : — 
Archbishops. 

Grenfeld,  of  York,  York  Cathedral,  1315. 
Waldeby,  of  York,  Westminster  Abbey,  1397. 
Cranley,  of  Dublin,  New  College,  Oxford,  1417. 
Unknown  (of  York  ?),  Edenham,  Lines,  c.  1550. 

Bishops. 
Trilleck,  of  Hereford,  Hereford  Cathedral,  c.  1360. 
Wyvill,  of  Salisbury,  Salisbury  Cathedral,  1375, 
Waltham,  of  Salisbury,  Westminster  Abbey,   1395. 
Boothe,  of  Exeter,  East  Horsley,  Surrey,  1478. 
Bell,  of  Carlisle,  Carlisle  Cathedral,  1496. 
Stanley,  of  Ely,  Manchester  Cathedral,  1 5 1 5. 
Young,  of  Callipolis,  New  College,  Oxford,  1526. 
Goodrich,  of  Ely,  Ely  Cathedral,  1554. 

Abbots. 
Delamere,  St.  Alban's  Abbey,  c.  1375. 
Estney,  Westminster  Abbey,  149S. 

Processional  Vestments. 
Ecclesiastics  are  often  represented  as  wearing  other  vestments 
than  those  already  described. 

1.  The  Cope  is  the  chief  among  these,  and  is  worn  over  a  cassock 
and  surplice.  It  is  a  cloak-like  outer  vestment,  with  a  broad 
ornamental  orphrey  round  the  edge,  and  is  semi-circular  in  shape, 
fastened  at  the  neck  by  a  large  clasp,  called  a  morse.  The  whole 
of  the  cope  is  sometimes  richly  diapered,  as  at  Winchester  and 
Balsham. 

2.  The  Almuce,  a  fur  hood,  with  long  ends  pendant  in  front,  is 
worn  with  the  cope.  To  conveniently  represent  the  fur,  the 
surface  of  the  brass  is  commonly  lowered,  and  the  depression 
filled  up  with  lead  or  some  similar  substance. 

Examples  of  coped  priests  are  exceedingly  common,  and  often 
very  fine,  thus  affording  a  marked  contrast  to  the  memorials  of 
their  brethren  in  Eucharistic  vestments. 

Notable  Examples  :— 
Canon  Campeden,  St.  Cross,  Winchester,  13S2. 
Canon  Fulburne,  Fulbourn,  Cambs,  c.  1390. 
Canon  Sleford,  Balsham,  Cambs,  1401. 
Prior  Prestwyk,  Warbleton,  Sussex,  1436. 
Dean  Blodwell,  Balsham,  Cambs,  1462. 
Professor  Sever,  Merton  College,  Oxford,  1471. 
Bishop  White,  Winchester  College,  Hants,  c.  154S. 
Archbishop  Harsnett,  of  York,  Chigwell,  Essex,  1631. 


a)  amto  ouondani^nidaa^  ta^Safatuft 

fouftframn  be  wowt-ftrttw  Or  tot* 


Coped  Priest,   1511.     Orpington,  Kent. 


41 


CLASSES   OF   EFFIGIES.  43 

Canons  of  Windsor  were  entitled  to  wear,  instead  of  the  cope, 
the  mantle  of  the  Order  of  the  Garter,  of  which  they  were 
members.  It  was  purple  in  colour,  and  bore  upon  the  left 
shoulder  a  circular  white  badge  with  a  red  cross. 

Examples  : — 

Canon  Lupton,  provost,  Eton  College,  c.  1536. 
Canon  Cole,  S.T.B.  Magdalen  College,  Oxford,  1558. 

The  almuce  is  frequently  worn  without  the  cope,  and  then  its 
full  dimensions  become  apparent.  It  is  brought  well  together 
over  the  breast,  and  slopes  down  over  the  arms.  Its  edge  is 
fringed  by  a  row  of  small  tufts  of  fur  or  tails. 

Examples  : — 

Archdeacon  Goberd,  Magdalen  College,  Oxford,  1515. 
Prebendary  Adams,  East  Mailing,   Kent,  1522, 
Provost  Ilacombleyn,  King's  College,  Cambridge,  1528- 
Canon  Coorthopp,  Christ  Church  Cathedral,  Oxford,  1557. 
Provost  Brassie,  King's  College,  Cambridge,  1558. 

Academicals. 

At  the  two  universities,  and  more  particularly  at  Oxford,  there 
are  to  be  found  a  number  of  brasses  of  priests  in  academical 
habits,  though  they  are  rare  elsewhere. 

Among  them  there  is  considerable  diversity,  and  it  is  exceed- 
ingly difficult  to  discriminate  between  these  divergences,  and 
explain  their  meaning. 

All  wear  the  cassock.    They  may  be  roughly  divided  into  several 
classes,  according  to  the  dress. 

1.    The  Doctor  s  dress,  probably  {vide  illus.,  p.  45) 

(a)  Sleeveless  Gown,  reaching  to  the  feet,  and  having  a  single 

slit  in  front,  through  which  both  the  arms  were  thrust. 
(/>)   The  Tippet,  a  large  cape,  distinguished  from  the  almuce 

by  having  a  straight  edge  and  no  pendants. 
(e)  The  Academical  Hood,  either  added  to  or  substituted  for 
the  tippet.  It  is  best  seen  in  profile,  as  in  the  kneeling 
figures  of  Dr.  Billingford,  at  St.  Benet's,  Cambridge, 
and  of  Archdeacon  Polton,  at  All  Souls'  College,  Oxford. 
(d)  The  Cap,  stiff  and  round,  and  rising  slightly  to  a  point  in 
the  middle.    Dr.  Billingford  and  Dr.  Hautryve,  of  New 


.)4  MONUMENTAL    BRASSES. 

College,  wear  skull  caps  instead.     Neither  kind  bears 

any  resemblance  to  the  modern  college-cap. 

Examples  : — 

William  Hautryve,  LL.D.,  New  College,  Oxford.  1441. 
Richard  Billingford,  D.D.,  St.  Benet's  Church,  Cambridge,  1442. 
John  Argentein,  D.D.  and  M.D.,  King's  College,  Cambridge,  c.  1480. 
"Unknown,  Little  St.  Mary's,  Cambridge,  c.  14S0. 
William  Towne,  I).  D.,  King's  College,  Cambridge,  1496. 
Unknown,  Great  St.  Helen's,  BLhopsgate,  London,  c.  1500. 

2.  Bachelors  of  Divinity,  perhaps 

(a)  Gown  with  two  slits,  instead  of  one. 

(l>)   Tippet,  half- furred. 

(c)  Academical  Hood,  sometimes  omitted. 
This  class  is  a  doubtful  one,  and  two  of  the  examples  below, 
from   Queens'   College  and  Trinity  Hall,  are,   to  say  the  least, 
peculiar. 

Examples  :  — 

John     Bloxham,     S.T.B.     {Sancta     Theolo^ice    Baccalaureus),    Merton 

College,  Oxford,  15S7. 
John  Darley,  Heme,  Kent,  c.  1450. 
William  Blakwey,  Little  Wilbraham,  Cambs,  1521. 
Unknown,  Trinity  Hail,  Cambs,  c.  1530. 
Unknown,  Queens'  College,  Cambridge,  c.  1535 

3.  Masters  and  Bachelors  in  other  faculties, 
(a)  Surplice,  of  course  over  the  cassock. 
(/>)   Tippet. 

(c)  Hood. 
In  this  class  are  included  the  great  mass  of  academical  brasses. 
The  different  degrees  are   probably  distinguished   only   by  the 
colour  of  the  hood,  which  does  not  appear.     The  surplice  has 
usually  very  short  sleeves. 

Examples  : — 
John  Mottesfont,  LL.B.,  Lydd,  Kent,  1420. 
Walter  Wake,  S.T.S.,  New  College,  Oxford,  145 1. 
David  Lloytle,  LL.B.,  All  Souls'  College,  Oxford,  15 10. 
Nicholas  Goldwell,  M.A.  (no  tonsure),  Magdalen  College,  Oxford,  1523. 
Abbot  Lawrence,  of  Ramsey,  Burwell,  Cambs,  1542. 

Sometimes  the  surplice  is  apparently  omitted,  but  whether  this 

has  any  special  significance  or  not  it  is  impossible  to  tell. 

Examples  : — 

Ralph  Vaudrey,  M.A.,  Magdalen  College,  Oxford,  1478. 

Nicholas  Wotton,  LL.B.,  Great  St.  Helen's,  Bishopsgate,  London,  14S2 

Richard  Spekynton,.  LL.B.,  All  Souls'  College,  Oxford,  1490. 


A  Doctor,  e.  1480.     Little  St.  Mary's,  Cambridge 
40 


CLASSES   OF   EFFIGIES.  47 

4.  Undergraduates,  or  more  properly,  students.  It  is  possible 
that  in  the  brass  of  Thos.  Baker,  student  of  civil  law,  15 10,  in 
All  Souls'  Chapel,  we  have  the  attire  of  the  mediaeval  under- 
graduate. He  is  dressed  in  a  belted  tunic,  a  fur-sleeved  gown, 
and  a  mantle,  to  which  is  attached  a  small  hood,  gathered  up 
upon  the  left  shoulder.     He  has  no  tonsure. 

The  Monastic  Orders. 

Monastic  brasses  are  comparatively  rare,  in  consequence  doubt- 
less of  the  spoliation  and  destruction  of  the  monasteries  under 
Henry  VIII. 

Abbots,  in  episcopal  vestments,  are  to  be  found  at  St.  Alban's, 
Westminster,  and  a  few  other  places. 

The  only  one  in  distinctly  monastic  attire  is  at  Dorchester, 
Oxon,  representing  Richard  Bewfforeste,  c.  15 10.  His  cowled 
cloak  is  open  in  front,  showing  a  surplice  and  almuce  underneath. 
His  pastoral  staff  rests  on  his  right  arm. 

Priors.  Of  a  prior  there  is  a  very  fine  example  at  Cowfold,  in 
Sussex,  the  cloak  and  cowl  alone  being  visible. 

Monis,  of  the  Benedictine  order,  in  the  same  simple  dress,  are 
to  be  found  at  St.  Alban's  and  elsewhere. 

Abbesses.  Two  only  are  known,  at  Elstow,  in  Bedfordshire, 
and  Denham,  in  Buckinghamshire.  Their  dress  is  that  of  a 
widow  in  ordinary  life,  viz.,  a  plain  kirtle,  mantle,  veil  head-dress, 
and  barbe  or  wimple.     The  Elstow  abbess  has  a  pastoral  staff. 

Nuns.  Some  half-dozen  nuns  are  similarly  attired,  but  Margaret 
Dely,  1 56 1,  treasurer  of  the  convent  of  Syon,  in  her  diminutive 
brass  at  Isleworth,  Middlesex,  has  no  mantle. 

Post-Reformation  Ecclesiastics. 
The  divines  of  the  Reformation  are  not  very  commonly  com- 
memorated by  brasses  ;  but  when  they  occur,  they  are  represented 
in  the  ordinary  dress  of  citizens,  which  will  be  described  under 
the  head  "  Civilians." 

Notable  Examples  :— 

Griffin  Lloyd,  rector,  Chevenin^,  Kent,  1596. 

Dean  Tyndall,  Master  of  Queens'   College,  Cambridge,   Ely  Cathedral, 

1614. 
Dean  Wythines,  Vice-Chancellor  of  Oxford  University,  Battle,  Su>sex, 

1615. 


4S  MONUMENTAL   BRASSES. 


BRASSES   OF    KNIGHTS. 

Mediaeval  armour  is  nowhere  so  well  represented  as  on  brasses. 
We  have  left  to  us  specimens  of  every  kind  of  armour,  from  the 
chain-mail  of  the  crusader  to  the  latest  development  of  the  reign 
of  Charles  II.,  when  gunpowder  and  shot  caused  it  to  be  finally 
abandoned. 

The  student  should,  however,  by  no  means  neglect  to  visit  the 
armouries  in  the  Tower  of  London,  where  he  may  learn  much 
that  is  not  apparent  upon  an  engraved  brass;  e.g.  the  methods  of 
fastening  together  the  various  parts  of  a  suit  of  armour,  the  way 
in  which  roundels  are  strapped  and  buckled  to  tiie  breast-plate 
or  epauliere,  and  similar  details.  The  defences  of  the  back  are 
never  shown  in  brasses.  These  can  hardly  be  learnt  but  from 
collections  of  armour.  The  Tower  is  particularly  rich  in  armour 
of  the  reign  of  Henry  VII.,  and  all  later  developments  are  repre- 
sented. 

Stone  effigies  deserve  equal  attention,  chiefly  for  the  light  they 
throw  on  the  earlier  periods.  Knights  who  fought  under  Plan- 
tagenet  kings  may  be  found  in  nearly  all  the  great  cathedral  and 
conventual  churches.  Westminster  Abbey  must  be  specially 
mentioned  under  this  head,  and  among  lesser  churches  the 
Temple. 

At  St.  Paul's  Church,  Bedford,  there  is  recorded  to  have  been 
a  brass  to  Sir  John  Beauchamp,  120S,  and  this,  if  it  had  survived 
to  our  day,  would  have  been  the  oldest  brass  known.  As  it 
happens,  little  is  known  about  it  beyond  the  name  of  the  knight 
whom  it  commemorated,  and  we  can  only  regret  its  untimely 
loss. 

In  knightly  brasses  we  have  brought  before  us  the  actual  con- 
temporaneous portraits  of  our  forefathers  as  they  fought  in  all 
the  great  battles  and  wars  of  English  history,  from  the  last 
Crusade  to  the  close  of  the  Great  Rebellion.  During  this  period 
the  armour  of  the  knights  underwent  almost  as  many  changes  as 
occurred  in  the  passing  fashions  of  their  ladies.  It  may  be 
divided  into  seven  distinct  classes,  each  a  development  of  the  one 


Stunc  Effigy,  c  1270. 
4,9 


CLASSES   OF   EFFIGIES.  5  I 

before  it.  But  between  each  there  is  of  course  a  short  period 
of  transition,  just  as  between  the  different  styles  of  Gothic  archi- 
tecture, with  whose  rise  and  fall  the  art  of  brass-engraving  is 
intimately  connected. 

I.  The  Surcoat  Period.  During  which  entire  suits  of  mail  were 
worn,  ending  with  the  death  of  Edward  I.,  1307. 

Notable  Examples  : — 

Sir  John  Daubernoun,  Stoke  d'Abernon,  Surrey,  1277. 
Sir  Roger  de  Trumpington,  Trumpington,  Cambs,.  1289. 
Sir  Robert  de  Bures,  Acton,  Suffolk,  1302. 
Sir  Robert  de  Setvans,  Chartham,  Kent,  1306. 

(a)  A  period  of  transition,  during  which  additional  defences  of 
plate  began  to  be  worn  over  the  suit  of  mail,  and  with 
the  surcoat.  Extended  through  the  greater  part  of  the 
reign  of  Edward  II. 

Notable  Examples  : — 

Sir  William  Fitzralph,  Pebniarsh,  Essex,  c.  1320. 
Sir de  Bacon,  Gorleston,  Suffolk,  c.  1320. 

II.  The  Cyclas  Period.  From  the  Despencer  troubles  at  the 
close  of  the  reign  of  Edward  II.,  to  the  middle  of  that  of  Edward 
III.,  say  to  the  founding  of  the  Order  of  the  Garter,.  1350, 
between  the  battles  of  Crecy  and  Poictiers. 

Notable  Examples  : — 

Sir  John  de  Norlhwode,  Minister,  Isle  of  Sheppey,  1325. 
Sir  John  de  Creke,  Westley  Waterless,  Cambridgeshire,  1325, 
Sir  John  Daubernoun  II.,  Stoke  d'Abernon,  Surrey,  1327. 
Sir  John  Giffard,  Bowers  Gifford,  Essex,  1348. 

III.  The  Camail  Period.  From  the  founding  of  the  Order  of 
the  Garter  to  the  first  few  years  of  the  reign  of  Henry  IV. 

Notable  Examples,  exceedingly  numerous,  e.g.'. — 

The  Cobham  Series,  Cobham,  Kent,  1354-1407. 
Sir  Win.  Fienlez,  Ilurstmonceux,  Sussex,  1402. 
Sir  Win.  Bagot,  Baginton,  Warwick,  1407. 

(a)  Transitional,  overlapping  the  two  periods  which  it  partially 


C2  MONUMENTAL   BRASSES. 


divides.     A  larger  quantity  of  plate  armour  is  worn  in 
conjunction  with  the  camail  of  mail. 

Notable  Examples  : 

Sir  Thomas  Braunstone,  Wisbeach,  Cambridgeshire,  1401. 
Sir  John  Hanley,  Dartmouth,  Devon,  1408. 

IV.  The  Complete  Plate,  or  Lancastrian,  Period,  From  Henry 
I  if.  to  the  commencement  of  the  Wars  of  the  Roses  in  1455, 
marked  chiefly  by  Henry  V.'s  French  wars  and  the  battle  of 
Agincourt. 

Notable  Examples  : — 

Sir  Simon  de  Felbrigge,  Felbrigg,  Norfolk,  1413. 

Sir  John  Peryent,  Digswell,  Herts,  141 5. 

Sir  Thomas  Bromflete,  Wimington,  Bedfordshire,  1430- 

V.  The  Yorkist  Period.  From  the  battle  of  St.  Alban's  to  the 
battle  of  Bosworth  and  death  of  Richard  III.  in  1485,  covering 
the  whole  period  of  the  Wars  of  the  Roses.  The  defences  of 
plate  were  made  more  numerous  and  exaggerated  than  before. 

Notable  Examples  :— 

John  Ansty,  Esq.,  Qny,  Cambs,  c.  1465. 

Sir  Anthony  de  Grey,  St.  Alban's,  Herts,  14S0. 

Sir  Thomas  Vaughan,  Westminster  Abbey,  1483. 

VI.  The  Hail  Skirt,  or  Early  Tudor,  Period,  of  the  reigns  of 
Henry  VII.,  Henry  VIII.,  Edward  VI.,  and  Mary. 

Examples  are  so  numerous  that  it  is  useless  to  mention  any  in 
particular,  especially  as  none  of  them  are  of  any  very  great  merit. 

VII.  The  Tasset,  or  Elizabethan,  Period.  Extending  to  the 
final  abandonment  of  the  use  of  armour.  The  very  few  instances 
of  knights  in  armour  later  than  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  are  of  the 
same  style.  Perhaps  the  latest  known  is  that  of  Nicholas  Toke, 
Esq.,  Great  Chart,  Kent,  1680. 

I.  The  Surcoat  Period. 

The  reign  of  Edward  I.  produces  the  earliest  remaining  knightly 
effigy,  viz.,  that  of  Sir  John  Daubernoun,  mentioned  above,  at 
Stoke  d'Abernon,  near  Leatherhead,  in  Surrey.      Here  we  have 


Sir  John  Daubernocn,  1277. 
Stoke  d'Abernon,  Surrey. 


54 


CLASSES   OF   EFFIGIES.  55 

portrayed  the  full  crusading  panoply,  though  this  particular  knight 
never  visited  the  Holy  Land. 

The  armour  is  as  follows  : — 

i.  A  complete  suit  of  chain  mail,  consisting  of 

(a)  Hawberk,  covering  the  body  and  arms. 

(b)  Coif  de  mailles,  or  hood. 

(c)  Chaicsses,  or  stockings. 

(d)  Gloves,  continued  from  the  sleeves  of  the  hawberk,  nnd 
undivided  for  the  fingers. 

2.  Genouillicres,  or  knee  pieces,  made  either  of  steel  or  of  a 
leather  called  cuirbouilli,  and  strapped  over  the  chain  mail. 

A  sitrcoat  of  linen  or  cloth  was  worn  over  the  armour.  It  was 
sleeveless,  and  reached  to  some  distance  below  the  knee,  being 
slit  up  part  of  the  way  in  front,  confined  at  the  waist  by  a  narrow 
cord,  and  fringed  at  the  bottom. 

Accessories  : — 

i.  Shield,  which  was  either  small  and  //eafer-shaped,  as  worn 
by  Sir  John  D.iubernoun,  or  else  rounded  to  the  body,  as 
Sir  Roger  de  Trumpington  has  it.  In  both  cases  the 
coat  of  arms  of  the  wearer  was  emblazoned  upon  it. 

It  was  worn  on  the  left  arm,  and  supported  by  a  guige 
or  strap,  usually  ornamented,  passing  over  the  right 
shoulder. 

ii.  Spws.  These  were  of  the  "  prick "  kind,  i.e.,  they  were 
cruelly  long  plain  spikes,  fastened  by  straps  across  the 
insteps. 

iii.  Ailettes.  Curious  square  appendages,  fastened  in  an  up- 
right position  on  the  shoulders,  fringed  and  emblazoned 
with  the  wearer's  arms.     They  were  not  always  used. 

iv.  Tilting  Helmet.  Only  worn  when  in  action.  At  other  times 
carried  slung  over  the  saddle.  Made  of  heavy  steel,  and 
padded  inside.  It  is  shown  only  in  the  Trumpington 
brass,  where  the  knight's  head  is  pillowed  upon  it.  A 
chain  connects  it  with  the  cord  which  surrounds  his 
waist,  answering  the  same  purpose  as  the  modern  hat- 
guard. 


56  MONUMENTAL   BRASSES. 

Weapons  : — 

i.  Sword.  Large,  and  cross-hilteri.  Often  very  handsome, 
with  a  beautifully  enriched  scabbard.  It  is  hung  in  front, 
or  a  little  to  the  left  side,  from  a  broad  belt  adjusted  over 
the  hips. 
ii.  Spear.  Only  found  in  the  brass  of  Sir  John  Daubernoun. 
It  leans  against  his  right  arm,  and  is  adorned  by  a  small 
emblazoned  pennon. 

In  most  cases  the  feet  rest  against  a  lion,  though  oc- 
casionally a  hound  is  substituted. 

(a)  Transition  Period.  The  same  weapons  are  used,  and  the 
same  armour  worn,  but  with  certain  additional  defences  of  plate. 
These  are  as  follows  : — 

i.  Demi-plates,  on  the  upper  and  forearms,  called  brassarts  or 

rere-braces  and  vambraces. 
ii.    Coutes,  protecting  the  elbows, 
iii.  Roundels,  or  palettes,  spiked,  buckled  to  the  shoulders  and 

the  bend  of  the  arms, 
iv.  Jambs,  or  shin-plates. 
v.  Sollerets,  which  were  small  square  plates  jointed  together 

and  protecting  the  feet. 
The  Gorleston  knight  is  in  banded  instead  of  chain  mail. 


II.  The  Cjclas  Period. 

The  close  of  the  reign  of  Edward  II.  saw  several  important 
changes  in  defensive  armour.  The  suit  of  mail  was  still  worn, 
but  was  generally  banded,  i.e.,  instead  of  the  little  rings  being 
hnked  to  one  another,  they  were  sewn  in  rows  upon  a  leather 
foundation.  The  sleeves  of  the  hawberk  became  shorter,  and 
vambraces  were  worn  beneath  on  the  forearm.  The  coif  de 
mailles  upon  the  head  gave  way  to  the  fluted  steel  bascinet,  and 
the  surcoat  to  the  cyclas.  In  other  respects  the  armour  remained 
the  same  as  in  the  transitional  period,  except  that  prick  spurs  fell 
into  disuse,  and  were  replaced  by  the  ordinary  rowell  type.  The 
cyclas  differed  from  the  surcoat  in  being  slit  up  at  the  sides,  and 


m 


10  it 


Hi 


blK   JuHN    D'AKUENTINE,     I 

Horseheath,  Cambridgeshire. 


CLASSES   OF   EFFIGIES.  59 

very  much  shorter  in  front  than  at  the  back  ;  even  behind  it  did 
not  reach  below  the  knees.  Owing  to  its  bhormess  in  front,  the 
garments  worn  beneath  it  can  all  be  seen,  one  below  the  other. 
Beginning  from  the  outermost,  the  body-coverings  were  as 
follows  : — 

i.   Cyclas. 

ii.  Pourpoint.  A  fringed  dress  of  rich  materials,  usually  em- 
broidered with  some  pattern. 

iii.  Hawberk.  Now  usually  with  the  lower  edge  pointed,  but  at 
Minster  straight  and  slit  up  the  front. 

iv.  Hauketon.  A  padded  garment,  stitched  in  parallel  down- 
ward lines,  and  intended  to  protect  the  body  from  the 
chafing  of  the  heavy  hawberk. 

The  Bowers  Gifford  knight,  mentioned  above  as  a  notable  ex- 
ample, is  really  transitional,  or  rather,  peculiar,  since  he  wears  a 
garment  which  can  only  be  described  as  something  between  a 
surcoat  and  a  jupon  (speedily  to  be  mentioned),  and  has  no  bras- 
sarts  or  jambs. 

III.  The  Camail  Period. 

The  armour  worn  during  this  period,  which  lasted  half  a  cen- 
tury, was  almost  invariable,  and  moreover  quite  different  to  that 
which  it  displaced. 

Defensive  Armour  {vide  illus.  opposite)  : 
i.  Bascinet.     A  plain,  acutely  pointed  steel  cap. 

ii.   Camail.     A  tippet  of  mail,  cnain  or  banded,  laced  to  the 
bascinet,  and  covering  the  neck  and  shoulders. 

iii.  Mail  Shirt,  or  sleeveless  hawberk,  visible  only  at  its  lower 
edge,  and  sometimes  at  the  armpits. 

jv.  Jupon.  A  tight-fitting  short  tunic  without  sleeves,  generally 
of  leather,  and  sometimes  charged  with  armorial  bear- 
ing*. Its  lower  edge  was  in  most  cases  escalloped  or 
fringed. 

v.  Arm-defences,  now  entirely  of  steel,  and  consisting  of 
epaulibes  (epaulets),  protecting  the  shoulders,  usually  of 


60  MONUMENTAL   BRASSES. 


three  plates  one  above  the  other;  brassarts,  coutes,  and 
vambraces. 

vi.   Gauntlets,  of  steel  or  leather,  or  sometimes  of  leather  faced 
with  steel. 

vii.    Cuisses,  or  thigh  armour.     Steel  plates,  frequently  covered 
by  pourpointiie  work,  i.e.,  pieces  of  coloured  satin  sewn 
with  metal  studs, 
viii.   Genouillieres,  small  and  plain. 

ix.  Jambs,  in  some  instances  showing  pair  of  mail  stockings. 

x.  SoIIerets,  sharp-toed,  and  generally  having   the  instep  pro- 
tected by  what  is  called  a  gusset  of  mail. 

xi.   Rowcll  Spurs. 

Offensive  Armour  : 

i.  Sivord,  crossdiilted,  with  a  plain  scabbard.     It  was  fastene  1 
at  the  left  side  to  a  handsome  bazcJric,  a  broad  straight 
belt  adjusted  upon  the  hips, 
ii.  Misericorde,  a  short  dagger,  without  guard,  fastened  to  the 
bawilric  on  the  right. 
An  important  change  has  nut  yet  been  mentioned.     The  shield 
is  now  no  longer  represented  as  an  adjunct  to  the  pictured  knight. 
It  disappears  as  completely  as  if  it  had  fallen  into  disuse.     The 
feet  rest  always  against  a  lion  or  a  ho  and. 

a.  Transition  Period.      The  chief  mark    of  change   is   to  be 
found  in  the  abandonment  of  the  jupon,  formerly  so  essential  a 
part  of  a  knight's  equipment.     The  armour  worn   beneath   it  is 
therefore  now  for  the  fust  time  visible.     It  consists  of, — 
i.   Cuirass  of  steel,  very  plain,  and  rounded  in  front, 
ii.    Taces,  or  broad  hoops  of  steel,  fastened  one  to  the  other, 
and  forming  a  short  skirt.     There  are  usually  about  six 
of  these. 

IV.  Lancastrian  Tcriod. 

We  now  come  to  the  armour  worn  by  the  knights  who  fought 
at  Agincourt  and  Orleans.  It  differed  from  that  of  the  preceding 
reigns  in  being  of  complete  plate,  without  any  admixture  of  mail 
except  sometimes  a  narrow  fringe  to  the  lowest  tace. 


Jwlatrr  in  Idi'iiY  got  qiif  Mr  "Wife"-  wbaf  m  mmwliu  fltteus  ft:::  wnis: 
MlimimrtmiTrr.  tirjj  Imftft  iiniinims  •  nniiwis  unuitfrp  MiumsfiHinuriif-- 
•Jjuflis  dite  luiirii  ii;vifcft.i|li^4to-iiit|munnnK[iiii  liirrtiiauainiitluiit 
5i1  on  mstuira  tp  iiDb  tiui  iioliUi.M-£diunnonTs  iiiifms  uufirfeji  ntriwurcufl 
;4uiiti£t  (Tiittnurt-wfc  lUiirftt"^  uitwf-cit  sUitt-iiuumitfiiri'yuuuiUr  ^lmKsu-> 
Cr.wliir  »nrarti!i5  vVutnia  uur  nou'rtiiis - m  <v  nfrnwM  aniWrar far  lirata  -   . 


Sir  John  Lowe,  1426. 
Battle,  Sussex, 

CI 


CLASSES   OF   EFFIGIES.  6$ 

One  absolutely  new  piece  of  armour  came  into  use.  This  was 
the  steel  gorget,  encircling  the  neck,  and  replacing  the  camail, 
which  entirely  disappears. 

The  acutely  pointed  bascinet  also  fell  into  disuse,  and  gave  way 
to  a  lower  and  rounder  helmet.  The  gorget  was  not  so  deep  as 
the  camail  had  been,  involving  a  lengthening  of  the  epaulieres, 
which  now  consisted  of  six  or  more  plates,  instead  of  three  only. 
At  the  armpits  roundels  were  still  used,  but  gradually  gave  place 
to  oblong  palettes,  which  were  sometimes  charged  with  a  cross. 
The  coutes  at  the  elbows  in  most  instances  became  fan-shaped. 
Below  the  knee  small  additional  plates  were  attached  to  the  genou- 
illieres.  Bawdries  went  out  with  the  jupons,  and  the  sword  was 
now  kept  in  position  at  the  left  side  by  a  narrow  transverse  belt 
ornamented  usually  with  quatrefoils.  The  misericorde,  on  the 
other  side,  was  hooked  to  one  of  the  taces  themselves. 

At  the  close  of  the  French  wars  came  several  slight  alterations. 
Two  small  plates,  called  tuilles  were  buckled  to  the  lowermost 
tace.  At  first  they  were  hardly  deeper  than  the  hoop  to  which 
they  were  attached,  but  gradually  lengthened  till  they  almost 
touched  the  genouillieres.  Pauldrons  and  placcates  now  began 
to  make  their  appearance,  but  they  belong  more  properly  to 
the  next  period,  to  which  it  is  more  convenient  to  leave  their 
description. 


V.  The  Yorkist  Period. 

The  style  of  armour  which  was  adopted  throughout  the  Wars 
of  the  Roses  was  perhaps  the  most  extraordinary  ever  invented  by 
mankind. 

Its  most  striking  feature  is  the  rapid  accumulation  of  heavy 
and  ungainly  steel  plates,  one  upon  another,  till  it  is  difficult  to 
imagine  how  any  knight  could  sustain  their  combined  weight. 
The  helmet  is  but  rarely  depicted  in  the  brasses  of  the  time,  and 
the  hair  is  worn  short  at  first,  and  afterwards  flowing  to  the 
shoulders. 

The  old  armour  remains  as  a  foundation,  though  much  of  it  is 
greatly  changed,  chiefly  by  a  process  of  exaggeration. 


64  MONUMENTAL   BRASSES. 


The  first  indications  of  the  coming  change  are  to  be  seen  in 
the  use  of — 

i.  Pauldrons,  massive  steel  plates  protecting  the  upper  arms 
and    shoulders.      They  were   at   first    quite    plain,   and 
showed  the  uppermost  plates  of  the  epaulieres  beneath, 
ii.  Placcates,  additional  defences  to   the  upper  part  of  the 

cuirass,  one  on  each  side. 
iii.  Demi-placcates,  covering   the   lower   part   of  the   cuirass 
broad  at  the  bottom,  and  tapering  upwards  to  a  point 
between  the  placcates. 
iv.  Gardes  de-bras,    sometimes    attached    to    the    coutes    or 
gauntlets.     Those  on  the  right  arm   were  of  different 
shape  to  those  on  the  left,  the  idea  being  to  leave  the 
former  freer  for  action,  while  the  latter  was  rather  for 
defence. 
By  the  time  Edward   IV.  ascended   the  throne,  in   146 1,  the 
armour  of  the  period  had  reached  its  utmost  development,  and 
continued  practically  the  same  till  the  close  of  the  civil  wars. 

A  collar  of  mail  was  now  substituted  for  the  gorget,  and  the 
pauldrons  and  coutes  had  attained  to  colossal  proportions. 

i.   The  Pauldrons  were  worn  sometimes  on  the  left  shoulder 
alone,  in  which  case  a  large  garde-de-bras  was  riveted 
to  the  epaulieres  of  the  right,  and  sometimes  on  both 
shoulders.     They  consisted  usually  of  two  plates,  one 
above  the  other,  the  uppermost  being  ridged,  and  having 
an  upturned  edge  to  protect  the  neck,  termed  a  pass- 
guard. 
ii.   The  Coutes,  now  often  called  coudieres,  were  of  immense 
size,  as  large  as  helmets,  and  often  fluted,  with  escalloped 
edges. 
The  skirt  of  taces  was  divided  transversely  into  a  great  number 
of  separate  pieces,  and  was  much  shortened,  while  the  tuilles  in- 
creased correspondingly.     Between  them  appears  a  short  baguette 
of  mail. 

The  genouiliieres  had  extra  plates  above  as  well  as  below. 
The  sword,  which  had  a  very  short  hilt,  was  hung  in  front  of  the 
body. 


E 


Mm 


brtriacct  hiuupms  sanlcp  tytitim.mofi 

mellnaittlmpsmcptt  tmmojn)  urtns  »#1 
din  olmt  eeu  dieiiBflKxtafflfe  ftmowimfo^  • 


Sir  Humphrey  Stanley,  1505. 
Westminster  Abbey. 
66 


CLASSES   OF   EFFIGIES.  6/ 


VI.  The  Early  Tudor  Periol. 

About  the  time  of  the  battle  of  Bosworth,  a.d.  14S5,  we  get 
another  complete  change,  when  all  the  old  extravagances  were 
abandoned.  The  change  must  have  been  sudden  as  well  as  com- 
plete, for  we  have  scarcely  any  traces  of  a  state  of  transition. 

The  cuirass  returns  to  its  simple  condition,  except  that  it  has 
a  ridge  down  the  centre.  Placcates,  demi-placcates,  coudieres 
and  gardes-de-bras  are  either  abandoned  altogether  or  reduced  to 
the  smallest  possible  dimensions. 

Mail  collars  are  retained,  and  also  pauldrons  with  pass-guards 
and  tuilles,  but  they  are  smaller  than  before.  The  latter,  as  re- 
presented on  brasses,  can  now  be  seen  to  be  four  in  number. 

New  features  are  : — 

i.  Mail  Skirt,  the  mark  of  the  period.     It  appears  below  the 

taces,  and  generally  reaches  beyond  the  tuilles. 
ii.  Sabbatons,  or  broad-toed  shoes,  upon  the  feet  instead  of 

pointed   sollerets.      A  gusset  of  mail  is  shown  at  the 

instep, 
iii.  Spear-rest,  a  small  hook,  occasionally  seen  screwed  to  the 

right-hand  side  of  the  breast  of  the  cuirass. 

AVith  this  style  of  armour  is  now  frequently  seen  the  tabard  of 
arms,  a  most  important  ornament  of  knightly  equipment.  It  was 
an  heraldic  coat  reaching  below  the  skirt  of  taces,  and  charged 
with  the  wearer's  armorial  bearings.  It  had  short  sleeves,  on 
each  of  which  the  arms  were  repeated.  The  tabard  occasionally 
appears  in  brasses  of  the  Yorkist  period,  but  did  not  come  into 
anything  like  general  use  till  the  reigns  of  Henry  VII.  and  Henry 
VIII.  It  is  never  seen  later  than  the  midJle  of  the  i6ih  cen- 
tury. 

VII.  The  Elizabethan  Period. 

Armour  now  received  its  last  development.  The  cuirass  be- 
came long-waisted,  and  was  sharply  ridged  down  the  breast. 

Pauldrons  were  discarded,  and  once  more  replaced  by  epaulicres, 


68  MONUMENTAL   BRASSES. 

enlarged,  having  an  ornamental  edge,  and  nearly  meeting  across 
the  cuirass. 

The  skirt  of  taces  disappeared,  and  in  its  stead  appendages 
called  tassets,  or  lamboys,  were  buckled  immediately  to  the  cuirass. 
These  tassets  were  a  legitimate  development  of  the  tuilles,  but 
■consisted  of  many  plates,  of  which  the  lowest  were,  except  in  a 
few  of  the  earliest  examples,  rounded  off.  In  some  few  instances 
they  were  fastened  to  the  knee-plates,  but  did  not  usually  reach 
quite  so  low. 

Ruffs  were  always  worn  round  the  neck,  and  generally  at  the 
wrists  also.  At  the  beginning  of  Elizabeth's  reign  the  mail 
skirt  was  still  worn  beneath  the  lamboys,  but  was  speedily 
abandoned. 

The  armour  of  the  Stuarts  was  in  all  points  the  same  as  that  of 
the  Elizabethan  period.  The  sword-hilt,  however,  assumes,  with 
James  I.,  the  pattern  still  in  use. 

The  latest  known  brass  representing  a  man  in  armour  is  to  be 
found  at  Great  Chart,  near  Ashford,  in  Kent,  a.d.  1680,  when 
Charles  II.  was  on  the  throne.  The  Elizabethan  type  of  armour 
still  holds  its  ground,  and  the  lamboys  are  seen  covering  a  large 
pair  of  trunk  breeches.  The  ruffs  are  replaced  by  a  turned-down 
collar  and  cuffs. 


BRASSES  OF  LADIES. 

Ladies'  dress  must  be  taken  in  close  connection  with  the  armour 
of  their  husbands,  apart  from  whom  they  seldom  appear  on 
sculptured  tomb  or  engraved  brass.  The  earliest  representations 
of  ladies  are  to  be  found  on  the  brasses  of  Margaret  Lady  Camoys, 
at  Trotton,  Sussex,  a.d.  13 10  ;  Joan  Lady  Cobham,  at  Cobham, 
Kent,  1320;  Al>ne  Lady  Creke,  at  Westley  Waterless,  Cambs, 
1325  ;  Joan  Lady  Northwode,  at  Minster,  Sheppey,  1330;  and  a 
few  more. 

The  dress  is,  in  all  cases,  of  the  most  simple  character,  con- 
sisting of  a  kirtle  with  tight  buttoned  sleeves,  and  over  it  a  loose 
flowing  gown,  waistless,  and  having  short  sleeves  reaching  a  little 
below  the  elbow. 


CLASSES   OF   EFFIGIES.  69 

Lady  Creke  wears  also  an  open  cloak  or  mantle,  fastened  by  a 
cord  across  the  breast. 

A  hideous  wimple  or  gorget  is  worn  round  the  neck,  hiding 
also  the  chin  and  sides  of  the  face. 

The  hair  is  usually  kept  in  place  by  a  narrow  enriched  fillet  or 
coronet,  while  a  single  plait  or  curl  appears  on  either  side  of  the 
forehead. 

Upon  the  head  is  a  veil  or  coverchef,  descending  to  the 
shoulders. 

This  style  of  dress  continued  in  vogue  until  the  beginning  of 
the  camail  period  among  the  knights,  commencing  towards  the 
end  of  the  reign  of  Edward  III. 

The  changes  of  fashion  may  now  be  marked  chiefly  by  the 
head-dresses,  which  are  of  several  distinctive  types.  The  different 
styles  may  be  briefly  enumerated  thus : — 

1.  Reticulated  head-dresses,  Edward  1 1 1. -Henry  IV. 

2.  Horned  head-dresses,  a  peculiar  development  of  the  first- 

mentioned,  Henry  V.-Richard  III. 

3.  Butterfly    head-dresses,    corresponding    to   the  exaggerated 

armour  of  the  Yorkist  period,  Edward  IV.-Henry  VII. 

4.  Pedimental  head-dresses,   corresponding  to   the   mail  skirt 

period  of  the  Tudor  knights,  Henry  VII.-Queen  Mary. 

5.  Pans   head-dresses,  or  Mary  Queen   of  Scots  caps,   chiefly 

of  the  Elizabethan  period,  Henry  VII. -James  I. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  several  styles  considerably  over- 
lap one  another,  especially  the  last  two,  which  began  almost 
at  the  same  time,  although  the  one  very  much  outlasted  the 
other. 

The  first  style  was  subject  to  a  great  many  variations,  and  in 
its  earlier  stages  is  frequently  called  the  nebule  or  zigzag  head- 
dress. The  hair  was  enclosed  within  a  thin  net,  encircling  the 
face,  and  represented  by  a  series  of  wavy  (nebule)  or  zigzag  lines, 
from  two  to  six  in  number.  A  tress  of  hair  was  often  allowed 
to  escape  on  either  side,  and  its  end  rolled  up  into  a  netted  ball, 
of  similar  construction  to  the  upper  net,  and  resting  upon  the 
shoulder  {vide  illus.  on  next  page). 

The  dress  worn  at  the  same  time  was  a  low-necked  closely- 
fitting  kirtle,  with   tight  sleeves  buttoned  from  the  elbow  to  the 


?o 


MONUMENTAL   BRASSES. 


wrist.  It  was  frequently  buttoned  to  the  waist,  and  sometimes 
had  a  broad  border  or  trimming  of  heavy  fur.  Its  chief  feature 
was  its  simplicity. 

Occasionally  the  kirtle  is  seen  alone,  but  more  frequently 
another  dress  is  worn  over  it.  This  is  called  a  cote-hardi,  and 
is  almost  as  simple  as  the  kirtle.  Its  chief  distinction  is  that  its 
sleeves  terminate  above  the  elbows,  but  have  attached  to  them 
long  and  narrow  lappets  reaching  almost  to  the  ground.  It  some- 
times also  has  two  pockets  in  front.  A  very  peculiar  development 
of  this  same  dress  came  quickly  into  fashion. 


'xr-w 


A   Lady,  c.  1400.     Ore,  Su>sex. 
The  Neliule  head-dress,  p.  69. 


The  Sideless  Cote-hardi 


It  was  the  sideless  coie-hardi,  a  dress  as  fashionable  as  it  was 
peculiar.  The  bodice,  or  jacket,  was  absolutely  without  sides, 
consisting  of  a  fur  trimming  which  trimmed  nothing.  To  this 
was  attached  a  short  skirt,  slit  up  at  the  sides,  like  a  Bannockburn 
warrior's  cyclas,  and  almost  resembling  a  double  apron.  Over 
these  dresses  a  mantle  was  worn,  fastened  by  a  cord  passed  across 
the  breast  between  two  jewelled  clasps. 

During  the  reign  of  Henry  V.  the  most  noticeable  changes  in 


»«3^^%l|0^lj%%jttET 


Anne  Herward,  1485.    Aldborough,  Norfolk. 
The  Butterfly  head-dress. 


1-i 


CLASSES   OF   EFFIGIES. 


7: 


Elena  Bernard,  1467. 
Isleham,  Cambs. 

The  Horned  head-dress. 


costume  are  to  be  seen  in  the  head-dresses,  although  it  must  not 
be  forgotten  that  the  varying  styles  greatly  overlap.  The  hair  is 
still  confined  within  a  net,  in  a  remarkably  stiff  but  handsome 
manner. 

In  this  crespine  head-dress,  as  it 
is  called,  the  hair  is  fastened  in  a 
net,  often  jewelled,  upon  the  top  of 
the  head,  with  a  bunch  or  knob, 
also  netted,  above  each  ear.  The 
whole  coiffure  is  kept  in  position  by 
a  jewelled  band  or  fillet,  and  par- 
tially covered  by  a  light  veil,  which 
hangs  down  over  the  shoulders. 
There  are  numerous  variations  of 
this  head-dress,  and  indeed  hardly 
two  brasses  can  be  found  in  which 
the  hair  is  done  in  exactly  the  same 
way. 

Widows  wear  a  barbe  or  wimple, 
and  a  heavy  veil  which  entirely  hides  the  hair. 

The  crespine  head-dress,  however,  merely  leads  up  to  the  style 
in  which  the  head-dresses  assume  the  horned  or  mitred  shapes, 
and  which  remained  in  fashijn  till  the  close  of  the  Yorkist  period. 

In  it  the  side  nets  were  increased  to  a  very  large  size,  so  as  to 
form  a  pair  of  stiff  horns.  The  central  part  of  the  hair  is  usually 
hidden  by  the  veil,  which  reaches,  as  before,  to  the  shoulders. 

With  the  horned  head-dress  came  in  a  new  kind  of  gown, 
which  commonly,  though  not  always,  took  the  place  of  the  kirtle 
and  mantle.  It  was  plain,  and  high-waisted,  girt  under  the  breast 
by  a  narrow  but  rich  band.  Its  sleeves  were  extremely  wide  and 
loose,  but  brought  together  at  the  wrists.  A  broad  collar  was 
either  turned  up  round  the  neck,  or  fell  gracefully  upon  the 
shoulders. 

We  now  come  to  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  erections  with 
which  ladies  ever  burdened  themselves.  The  butteifly  head-dress 
came  into  fashion  during  the  reign  of  Edward  IV.,  but  did  not 
retain  its  popularity  for  more  than  a  few  years,  disappearing  soon 
after  the  accession  of  Henry  VII.      It  is  not  seen  to  advantage  in 


74  MONUMENTAL   BRASSES. 


brasses,  which  always  give  it  an  appearance  of  far  greater  heavi- 
ness than  it  really  possessed.  To  display  its  proportions  in  a 
brass,  it  was  necessary  to  turn  the  figure  slightly  sideways,  and 
this  was  invariably  done.  The  hair  was  brushed  straight  back 
from  the  forehead  and  enclosed  in  a  net  at  the  back  of  the  head. 
Upon  this  was  erected  a  huge  framework  of  wire,  covered  by  a 
spreading  veil.  The  effect  must,  at  least,  have  been  imposing. 
The  accompanying  dress  was  extremely  low  in  the  neck,  edged 
usually  with  fur,  and  having  tight  sleeves  and  cuffs.  To  a  girdle 
about  the  waist  a  rich  charm  or  ornament  was  hung  by  a  some- 
what lengthy  chain.  A  broad  and  rich  necklace  was  usually 
worn.  An  outer  mantle  is  still  often  seen.  About  the  same  time 
in  which  knightly  tabards  became  common,  there  appeared  among 
the  ladies  richly  embroidered  heraldic  dresses.  A  married  lady 
would  wear  the  arms  of  her  own  family  emblazoned  upon  her 
kirtle,  and  those  of  her  husband  on  her  mantle.  The  custom 
continued  till  the  close  of  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII. 

Excellent  examples  of  the  heraldic  kirtle  and  mantle  in  con- 
nection with  the  butterfly  head-dress  may  be  seen  in  the  brasses 
of  two  sisters-in-law  at  the  Church  of  Long  Melford,  in  Suffolk, 
c.  1480. 

The  pediviefital  head-dress  made  its  first  appearance  in  the 
reign  of  Henry  VII.  Its  shape  and  style,  together  with  the  dress 
with  which  it  was  associated,  underwent  but  little  change  until 
the  middle  of  Henry  VIII. 's  reign.  It  was  exceedingly  stiff,  and 
entirely  hid  the  hair.  Frontlets  of  thxk  velvet,  elaborately 
embroidered,  met  over  the  forehead,  so  as  to  form  a  sharp  and 
decided  angle,  and  hung  down  in  lappets  on  either  side  of  the 
face,  reaching  to  the  shoulders,  or  lower.  Similar  lappets,  or  else 
a  veil,  hung  behind. 

The  dress  had  tight  sleeves  with  fur  cuffs,  and  was  cut  square 
at  the  neck.  Its  skirt  was  frequently  trimmed  with  fur.  A  large 
embroidered  belt,  faced  with  silver,  was  buckled  loosely  round 
the  waist,  and  its  end  allowed  to  hang  almost  to  the  ground. 
Three  metal  roses  or  clasps  were  sometimes  substituted  for  the 
buckle,  with  a  pendant  chain  attached,  generally  terminated  by  a 
handsome  pomander  or  scent-box. 

Several  changes  were  made  during  the  second  half  of  the  bluff 


CLASSES    OF    EFFIGIES. 


75 


5^jtu#  wtr/ 


kings  reign,  beginning  at  about  a.d.  1530.  The  front  lappets  of 
the  head-dress  were  frequently  pinned  up  out  of  the  way,  and 
the  collar  of  the  dress,  no  longer  cut  square,  was  turned  down  so 
as  to  show  the  fart  let,  a  linen 
garment  drawn  together  round 
the  neck.  The  dress  sleeves 
reached  only  to  the  elbow,  and 
were  very  broad,  and  heavily 
trimmed  with  fur.  Embroidered 
under-sleeves,  striped  longitudin- 
ally and  slashed  beneath,  were 
now  rendered  visible.  A  long 
rosary  sometimes  takes  the  place 
of  the  chain  and  pomander. 

Excellent  instances  may  be 
seen  at  Harefield,  Middlesex, 
1537  and  1540;  and  at  Lulling- 
stoneand  West  Mailing,  in  Kent, 
'544*  1533  and  1543  {vide\\\us.). 

Throughout  the  reigns  of  Ed- 
ward VI.  and  Mary,  the  pedi- 
mental  head-dress  lingered  on, 
but  was  partially  superseded  by 
a  new  and  very  different  cos- 
tume. 

The  French  bonnet,  Paris-head, 
or  Mary  Queen  of  Scots  head-dress, 
was  a  close  linen  cap  with  a 
horse-shoe  shaped  front,  and  a 
short  lappet  or  veil  hanging  down 
behind.  The  outer  gown  or 
mantle  is  frequently  straight, 
without  waistband  or  girdle,  and 
open  down  the  front,  though  held 
together  by  small  bows.  From 
its  puffed  and  slashed  shoulders  false  sleeves  hang  almost  to  the 
ground. 

Soon  after  the  accession  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  false  sleeves  were 


Envni.     Pbkbpoynt,  1543. 
West  Mailing,  Kent. 

The  PoJiinoiu.il  ho.iddresi. 


75  MONUMENTAL   BRASSES. 


abandoned,  and  true  sleeves  were  cut  and  slashed  from  the 
shoulder  to  the  waist.  A  sash  was  worn  round  the  waist,  and 
below  it  the  gown  opened  out,  showing  an  elaborately  quilted 
petticoat.  Ruffs  began  to  be  worn  about  the  neck,  and  gradually 
increased  in  size  and  stiffness.  Towards  the  end  of  the  reign  the 
centre  of  the  French  cap  was  considerably  depressed,  and  the 
back  lappet  turned  up  upon  it.  Important  changes,  which  re- 
mained in  fashion  throughout  the  reigns  of  James  I.  and  Charles 
I.  now  appeared.  The  embroidered  petticoat  was  still  in  vogue, 
but  it  and  the  skirt  of  the  dress  were  gathered  up  at  the  waist, 
often  with  a  flounce,  and  stuffed  out  by  a  large  farthingale,  the 
precursor  of  the  more  modern  crinoline.  The  sash  was  given  up, 
and  the  bodice  became  a  long-waisted  peaked  stomacher.  A 
short  cloak  and  a  large  hood  were  occasionally  worn. 

In  the  rei^n  of  Tames  I.  and  onwards  to  the  Commonwealth,  a 
large  broad-brimmed  hat  is  frequently  added  to  the  other  cover- 
ings of  the  head. 

Ladies'  brasses  of  a  later  date  and  style  to  this  of  the  ruff, 
stomacher,  and  farthingale,  are  rarely  seen,  and  need  not  be 
described. 

The  latest  known  brass  to  a  lady,  previous  to  the  modern 
revival,  is  to  be  seen  in  the  Church  of  St.  Mary  Cray,  in  Kent.  It 
commemorates  Mrs.  Philadelphia  Greenwood,  who  died  a.d.  1747. 
She  wears  a  plain  gown,  with  a  plaited  neckerchief  and  a  long 
gauzy  veil,  thrown  over  her  head  and  falling  to  the  ground. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  in  the  preceding  sketch  of  female 
costume,  the  typical  dresses  only  of  the  several  styles  have  been 
mentioned,  space  forbidding  a  more  complete  account.  The 
minute  variations  and  eccentricities  of  fashion  were  almost,  if  not 
quite,  as  numerous  as  they  are  at  the  present  day. 

BRASSES  OF  CIVILIANS. 

The  illustrations  of  civil  costume  as  they  appear  on  brasses  do 
not  date  back  further  than  the  times  of  Chaucer  and  Wiclif,  and 
indeed  do  not  become  numerous  till  the  reign  of  Henry  VI. 

We  have,  however,  quite  enough  examples  from  the  middle  of 
the  rei»n  of  Edward  III.  to  show  us  what  sort  of  dress  was  worn 


CLASSES   OF   EFFIGIES.  -J J 


by  the  laity  when  our  first  great  poet  sang  and  our  first  great 
reformer  preached  and  wrote. 

The  extravagances  of  fashion  we  must  not  expect  to  find. 
They  would  be  altogether  out  of  place  upon  the  monuments  of 
the  dead,  and  must  be  looked  for  rather  in  illuminated  manu- 
scripts, and  in  the  denunciations  of  sober-minded  writers  of  the 
day. 

Edward  III. 

Among  the  earliest  civilian  brasses,  two  distinct  and  contempo- 
rary styles  of  dress  may  be  seen,  perhaps  distinguishing  the 
wealthier  merchant  princes  from  their  humbler  brethren. 

In  the  simplest  of  these  only  one  garment  is  visible,  a  long 
loose  gown  with  close  sleeves,  fastened  at  the  neck  by  two  or 
three  buttons,  and  furnished  with  a  hood.  It  has  very  much  the 
appearance  of  a  modern  nightshirt.  Good  examples  are  at  Great 
Berkhampstead,  Herts.,  a.d.  1356;  St.  Helen's,  Ore,  Sussex,. 
c.  1400;  and  St.  Michael's,  St.  Alban's,  Herts,  c.  1400. 

The  other  dress  is  somewhat  more  elaborate.  Over  a  very 
short  doublet  and  tight  hose  is  thrown  a  tunic,  which  reaches 
below  the  knees.  It  has  no  waist-belt,  but  is  made  to  fit  the 
figure,  and  is  cut  open  in  front  towards  the  bottom,  in  order 
to  give  greater  freedom  in  walking.  There  are  usually  two 
slits  for  pockets.  The  sleeves  terminate  at  the  elbows,  and  have 
long  lappets  or  liripipes  attached  to  them.  A  tippet  and  hood 
are  worn  over  the  shoulders. 

Examples  are  to  be  found  at  Taplow,  Bucks,  c.  1350,  and  in 
the  magnificent  Flemish  brasses  at  King's  Lynn,  Norfolk,  to  Adam 
de  YValsokne,  1349,  and  Robert  Braunche,  1364,  and  at  Newark, 
Notts,  to  Alan  Fleming,  136 1. 

Richard  II. 

In  the  reign  of  Richard  II.  several  modifications  appear.  The 
tunic  becomes  simpler,  without  sleeve-lappets,  and  is  girt  at  the 
waist  by  a  cord  or  belt,  to  which  is  usually  attached  an  anelace. 
The  anelace  is  a  short  sword.  Over  the  tunic  is  worn  a  large 
cloak  or  mantle,  buttoned  upon  the  right  shoulder,  and  usually 
gathered  up  over  the  left  arm.  The  dress  was  worn  also  through- 
out the  reigns  of  Henry  IV.  and  Henry  Y. 


78  MONUMENTAL   BRASSES. 

Henry    VI.— Henry    VII. 

During  the  greater  part  of  the  15  th  century  but  few  varia- 
tions appear  in  the  dress  of  the  ordinary  civilian.  He  wears  a 
long  tunic,  as  in  the  preceding  reigns,  but  it  is  furnished  with 
exceedingly  wide  sleeves,  narrowing  to  the  wrists.  Planche  tells 
us  that  they  were  called  the  devil's  receptacles,  for  whatever 
could  be  stolen  was  popped  into  them.  The  cuffs  and  the  lower 
edge  of  the  tunic  are  often  edged  with  fur.  The  mantle  is  now 
discarded  by  all  but  certain  functionaries,  such  as  judges  and 
mayors.  The  hair  is  worn  quite  short.  There  remain  number- 
less instances  of  this  style  of  dress  all  over  England,  and  the 
collector  will  find  no  difficulty  in  supplying  himself  with  good 
examples  {vide  illus  ). 

Henry    VIII. 

The  next  great  change  came  at  about  the  time  of  the  accession 
of  Henry  VIII.  Peaching  to  the  feet  was  worn  a  fur-lined  gown, 
open  in  front,  but  kept  together  by  the  belt.  It  is  usually  turned 
back  a  little,  so  as  to  show  the  fur,  from  the  neck  to  the  feet.  The 
sleeves  are  wide,  like  those  of  a  surplice.  From  the  belt  is 
usually  suspended  a  gypciere,  or  purse,  and  a  short  rosary.  The 
anelace  disappears.  Hitherto  the  shoes  have  been  always 
sharply  pointed,  but  from  this  time  onwards  they  are  heeled 
sabots,  gradually  developing  into  the  modern  shoes.  The  hair  is 
now  long,  and  reaches  to  the  neck. 

Elizabeth. 

Elizabethan  dress  is  perhaps  the  most  widely  represented  of  any 
figured  on  brasses,  and  is  almost  always  associated  in  the  col- 
lector's mind  with  thin  and  battered  and  badly-engraved  plates, 
which  refuse  to  yield  even  fairly  good  rubbings. 

The  doublet  and  hose  now  worn  is  too  well  known  to  need 
description,  and  is,  moreover,  rarely  seen  upon  a  brass.  It  is 
almost  entirely  hidden  by  the  long  gown,  which  differs  in  many 
respects  from  that  of  the  last  reign.  There  is  no  waistband,  and 
the  narrow  sleeves  hang  nearly  to  the  ground.  They  are,  how- 
ever, intended  for  ornament,  and  not  for  use,  the  sleeves  of  the 
duublet  being  thrust  through  slits  in  their  upper  parts.     Towards 


mm 


'^"*V 


s 


Edw.  Couktenay,  c.  1460.    Chrigt  Church,  Ux    r< 


Rich,  and  Cecilie  Howard,  1499.     Aylsham,  Norfolk. 


SI 


CLASSES   OF   EFFIGIES.  83 

the  middle  of  the  reign  the  fur-lining  or  trimming  falls  into  dis- 
use, and  with  its  disappearance  comes  the  fashion  of  wearing  frills 
or  ruffs  round  the  neck  and  wrists. 

The  Stuarts. 

The  costume  of  the  early  years  of  James  I.  was  in  all  respects 
similar  to  that  worn  at  the  close  of  the  last  reign,  and  brasses  of 
later  date  are  of  rare  occurrence.  A  passing  word  will  therefore 
be  sufficient  before  dismissing  the  subject. 

Under  Charles  I.  knee-breeches  came  into  fashion,  and  with 
them  a  short  cloak  instead  of  the  heavy  gown.  The  ruff  was 
replaced  by  a  wide  collar,  and  jack-boots  were  sometimes  worn, 
as  may  be  seen  at  Biddenden,  Kent.  With  the  Commonwealth 
the  practice  of  engraving  memorial  brasses  came  to  an  end, 
though  there  are  a  few  isolated  examples  later.  The  latest 
recorded  brass  commemorates  Benjamin  Greenwood,  a.d.  1773, 
and  lies  in  the  Church  of  St.  Mary  Cray,  Kent.  During  the  last 
fifty  years  the  art  has  been  partially  revived,  but  modern  brasses 
possess  little  or  no  originality,  and  do  not  fall  within  the  scope  of 
this  handbook. 


SHROUD  BRASSES; 

The  custom  of  engraving  shrouded  figures  and  skeletons  was 
introduced  shortly  before  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century  and 
continued  till  the  end  of  the  sixteenth.  It  was  a  horrible  prac- 
tice, and  became  most  common  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VII.,  and 
especially  in  the  eastern  counties.  The  shroud  is  usually  knotted 
at  the  head  and  feet,  and  sufficiently  open  to  expose  the  breast 
and  knees  of  the  deceased.  These  ghastly  memorials  were  fre- 
quently laid  down  during  the  lifetime  of  the  persons  they  were 
intended  to  commemorate,  in  order  that  they  might  constantly  be 
reminded  that  they  were  but  mortal.  The  emaciated  corpse  is 
the  form  most  frequently  adopted.  Skeletons  are  rarer,  but  may 
be  seen  at  Hildersham,  Cambs;  Weybridge,  Surrey;  Margate, 
Norwich,  and  other  places. 


iv.  accessories. 


BRASSES    AND    ARCHITECTURE. 


CANOPIES. 

Great  numbers  of  brasses  are  adorned  with  handsome  canopies 
over  and  around  the  figures,  and  these  bear  a  very  close  relation 
to  Decorated  and  Perpendicular  Gothic  architecture. 

In  describing  them  we  are  at  once  introduced  to  a  new  set  of 
technical  terms,  which  need  to  be  explained  to  the  beginner. 

The  usual  form  adopted  is  that  of  a  Gothic  arch  springing  from 
a  pair  of  side-shafts,  and  terminating  in  a  bunch  of  foliage,  called 
\.\\&_ftnial.  The  side-shafts  continue  beyond  the  spring  of  the  arch 
in  the  form  of  pinnacles.  In  the  earlier  examples  the  upper  sides  of 
the  arch  are  quite  straight,  and  give  a  bold  angle  at  the  point  to 
which  the  finial  is  affixed.  The  inner  side  consists  of  a  pointed 
or  round  arch,  of  which  the  chief  line  is  called  the  soffit,  and  is 
often  ornamented  with  a  row  of  quatrefoils.  Its  inner  surface  is 
diversified  by  curved  and  pointed  projections,  called  cusps.  They 
are  two  or  more  in  number,  and  are  sometimes  themselves 
cusped  again.  The  general  result  is  to  give  the  enclosed  spact 
the  shape  of  half  a  trefoil,  or  half  a  cinquefoil,  as  the  case  may 
be.  The  space  between  the  inner  and  outer  arches  is  occupied  by 
a  triangular  spandril.  The  outer  edge  is  ornamented  by  a  row  of 
crockets  (i.e.  "  little  crooks  "),  which  are  projecting  leaves,  as  of 
some  creeping  plant.  They  are,  however,  always  placed  at  regular 
intervals.  The  part  of  the  shaft  from  which  the  arch  springs  is 
called  the  pediment. 

Straight-sided   canopies   are    comparatively    rare    in    brasses, 

84 


ACCESSORIES.  85 


though  they  may  often  be  seen  in  stone  or  marble  tombs  of  the 
early  part  of  the  14th  century. 

In  the  brass  of  Joan  de  Cobham,  Cobham,  Kent,  c.  1320, 
there  is  a  well-known  example  of  this  ;tyle  of  canopy.  Its  early 
date  is  also  marked  by  the  characteristic,  unknown  in  later  times, 
of  its  pediments  being  made  to  rest  on  corbels  of  foliage,  from 
which  exceedingly  slender  shafts  descend  to  the  ground. 

But  the  usual  shape  of  the  outer  arch  is  that  of  a  graceful 
curve,  which  merges  into  the  finial  at  a  considerable  height.  The 
side  pinnacles  reach  to  about  the  same  altitude. 

In  detail  canopies  are  usually  of  great  beauty,  and  their  forms 
and  patterns  are  as  multitudinous  as  they  are  themselves.  The 
spandrils  are  richly  engraved,  and  frequently  enclose  within  a  circle 
or  quatrefoil  a  flower,  a  crest,  a  badge,  a  shield  of  arms,  or  some 
other  device.  Figures  of  saints  or  shields  of  arms  are  sometimes 
substituted  for  finials  and  the  summits  of  pinnacles.  The  whole 
canopy  is  often  triple,  or,  if  there  are  two  figures  below,  double, 
and  even  doubly  triple.  In  these  cases  the  effect  of  the  clustered 
pinnacles  is  very  beautiful. 

Shields  are  sometimes  hung  upon  the  pinnacles  and  shafts 
with  admirable  effect. 

Notable  Examples  : — 

Single  Canopies. 

The  Cobham  Series,  1320-1407. 
Horsmonden,  Kent,  c.  1330. 
Hurstmonceux,  Sussex,    1402. 
W'arbleton,  Sussex,  I436. 
Others  numerous. 

Double  Canopies. 

Wimington,  Bedfordshire,  1391. 
Dartford,  Kent,  1402. 
Faversham,  Kent,  1533. 

Common  with  double  figures. 

Triple  Canopies. 

Balsham,  Cambridgeshire,  1401. 

Dartmouth,  Devon,  140S. 

New  College,  Oxford,  14 1 7. 

Etchingham,  Sussex,  1444. 

Enfield,  Middlesex,  1446. 

St.  Alban's,  Hertfordshire,    (451. 

Westminster  (Abbot  Estney),  1498. 


S6  MONUMENTAL   BRASSES. 

In  some  cases  the  upper  arch  alone  is  present,  without  any 
soffit,  and  supports  one  or  three  figures  of  saints  in  niches. 

Notable  Examples  :— 

Cobham,  Kent  (Sir  Reg.  Braybrok),  1405. 

Cobliam,  Kent  (Sir  Nicli.  Hawberk,  very  fine),  1407. 

Faversham,  Kent,  c.  1480. 

In  the  brass  of  John  Bloxham  and  John  Whytton,  c.  1420,  at 
Merton  College,  Oxford,  the  arches  pierce  a  panelled  arcade  in  a 
somewhat  unique  manner.  A  similar  arrangement  may  be  seen 
in  the  panelling  of  the  nave  walls  of  the  church  of  Stratford-on- 
Avon,  Warwickshire. 

In  many  canopies,  especially  those  of  the  end  of  the  15th 
century,  some  further  work  is  seen  below  the  soffit  and  cusps. 
This  is  intended  to  represent  vaulting,  and  exhibits  the  usual  ribs 
and  bosses.     It  is  of  course  drawn  in  perspective. 

Notable  Examples  : — 

Acton  Burnell,  Salop,  1382. 
Laughton,  Lincolnshire,  14S0. 
Long  Melford,  Suffolk,  1480. 
Cobham,  Kent,  1506. 
Hunstanton,  Norlolk,  1507. 

Embattled  Canopies. 
During  the  15th  century  it  is  not  uncommon  to  find  large 
super-canopies  added  to  those  already  described,  a  characteristic 
of  the  Perpendicular  or  Late  Gothic  style  of  architecture.  The 
side-shafts  are  continued  upwards  beyond  their  pinnacles,  and 
support  a  heavy  embattled  entablature,  strengthened  by  a  circular 
arch,  with  spandrils  on  either  side. 

Notable  Examples  : — 

New  College,  Oxford  (Archbishop  Cranley),  1417. 
Trotton,  Sussex  (Camoysj,  1424. 
Upwell,  Norfolk,  c.  1430. 

The  pointed  canopy  is  often  omitted  altogether,  and  the  em- 
battled entablature  brought  close  down  to  the  figure.  The  shafts 
are  occasionally  broadened  out  into  a  series  of  niches,  into  which 
the  figures  of  saints  are  introduced. 

Notable  Examples:  — 
With  saints. 
Balsham,  Cambridgeshire  (Blodwell),  1462. 
Tattersall,  Lincolnshire,  1479. 


ACCESSORIES. 


87 


Without  saints. 
Lingfield,  Surrey,  1420. 
Beddington,  Surrey,  1432. 

After  the  close  of  the   15th  century  canopies  are  rarely  met 
with,  and  are  much  debased. 


CROSSES. 

Crosses  were  a  very  favourite  form  of  memorial  throughout  the 
14th  century,  and  were  often  of  great  beauty.  Of  the  large 
numbers  that  were  then  laid  down,  but  few  have  survived  to  our 
day.  They  were  considered  "  popish  "  by  all  zealous  Reformers, 
and  ruthlessly  torn  from  the  gravestones  which  they  embellished. 
The  despoiled  slabs  may  be  seen  everywhere  in  our  cathedrals 
and  more  important  churches.  Some  few,  however,  escaped  the 
general  destruction  of  the  Tudor  and  Puritan  "  crusades,"  and 
remain  for  the  most  part  in  a  mutilated  condition,  to  indicate  the 


Greek  Cruas,  Fleury. 


Floriated  Quatrefoil  Cross. 


beauty  of  those  we  have  lost.     They  may  be  divided  into  several 
classes  :— 
1.   Floriated  Crosses. 

(a)  With  a  head  or  demi-figure  engraved  upon  a  Greek  cross 
at  the  intersection  of  the  arms.   The  floriated  extremities 
or  finials  are  richly  worked. 
Examples  : — 

Richard   de  ILikebourne,   priest,  Merton   College,   Oxford,  c.  1310. 
A  priest  (head  only),  Chinnor,  Oxon,  c,  132". 

(/-)  With   a   quatrefoil  head,    enclosing    a  half  or  full-len 

figure.      Again    the  finials  are  richly  floriated,   and  the 


ss 


MONUMENTAL   BRASSES. 


ZCZE 


Circle  and  Quatrefoil  Cross. 


Floriated  Otlofoi!  Cross. 


stem  also,  where  the  leaves  usually  appear  in  three  or 
four  pairs.  The  base  consists  of  a  few  steps,  or  else 
some  animal  or  religious  symbol.  This  applies  to  all 
floriated  crosses. 

The  quatrefoil  of  the  head  may  itself  be  drawn  within 
a  circle,  as  at  Woodchurch. 

Examples: — 

Nicliol  de  Gore,  priest,  Woodchurch,  Kent,  c.  1330. 
Britellus  Avenel,  priest,  Buxted,  Sussex,  c.  1375. 

(c)  With  an  octofoil  head,  enclosing  a  figure  or  figures. 
Here  we  have  a  series  of  eight  ogee  arches,  alternately 
larger  and  smaller,  and  terminating  with  floriated  finials 
both  within  and  without.  The  under  sides  of  the  arches 
are  usually  cusped.  The  stem  may  be  floriated,  or 
else  covered  with  a  diaper  pattern  or  inscription. 

Examples  : — 
John  de  Bladigdone  and  wife,  East  Wickham,  Kent,  c.   1325. 
Sir  John  de  Wantone  and  wife,  Wimbish,  Essex,  1347. 
Nicholas  Aumberdene,  Taplow,  Buckinghamshire,  c.  1350. 
A  priest,  Merton  College.  Oxford,  1372. 
A    civilian,    St.    Michael's,    St.    Alban's,   Herts,  c.    1400. 
John  Lumbarde,  priest,  Stone,  Kent,  140S. 

(d)  With  a  saint  or  symbol  enclosed  in  the  head,  and  figures 

kneeling  at  the  foot  in  an  attitude  of  supplication. 


ACCESSORIES.  89 


Examples  : — 

John  Mulsho  and  wife  (with  St.  Faith),  Newton-by-Geddington, 
Northampton,  1400. 

Robert  Parys  and  wife  (with  Holy  Trinity),  Hildersham,  Cambridge- 
shire, 1408. 

2.  Latin  Crosses. 
(a)  Crosses  fleury.  These  differ  in  many  ways  from  the 

Greek  crosses  described  above.     The  most  notice-  rf, 

able  difference  is  the  entire  absence  of  figures  in 
any  part  of  the  composition.  The  head  is  straight  * 
and  square,  and  its  arms  are  usually  terminated 
each  by  a  fleur  delys.  At  Higham  Ferrers,  how- 
ever, the  four  evangelistic  emblems  serve  as  fmials. 
A  long  stem  rises  from  a  few  steps,  or,  as  is  the 
case  in  a  number  of  matrices  of  most  magnificent 


ii    .1 

lost   brasses    in    Ely  Cathedral,    from   the  central     ^jjwj**' 
finial  of  a  Gothic  canopy. 

Examples  :— 

Higham  Ferrers,  Northants,  1400. 
Cassington,  Oxon,  c.  1415. 
Beddington,  Surrey,  c.  1425. 
Broadwater,  Sussex,  1445. 

{[>)  Plain    crosses.      A  few  small  and    late  brasses    are  formed 

merely  by  two  strips  of  metal  laid  across  one  another,  with 

an  inscription  at  the  foot. 

Examples  :— 

Hever,  Kent,  c.  1520.      (Henry  Bullayen.) 
Penshurst,  Kent,  c.  1520.     (Sir  Thos.  Bullayen.) 

3.  Bracket  Brasses. 
Figures  standing  upon  brackets  are  not  uncommon  in  the  early 
part  of  the    15th    century.     The   stem   is  very  much   like  a 
cross,  and  rises  in  the  same  way  from  steps,  or  from  some 
heraldic  device  or  crest.     A  canopy  is  frequently  added. 

Examples  : — 

Sir  John  Foxley  and  wives,  Bray,  Berks,  c.  1370. 

Reginald  de  Cobham,  priest,  Cobham,  Kent,  1402. 

|.  hi  Urban,  Southfleet,  Kent,  1414. 

Bloxham  and  Whytton,  priests,  Merton  College,  Oxford,  c.  14:0. 

Sir  Roger  L'Estrange,  Hunstanton,  Norfolk,  1507. 

A  curious  and  unique  bracket  brass  occurs  at  Upper  Hardies. 


QO  MONUMENTAL   BRASSES. 

Kent,  1405,  in  which  John  Strete  kneels  at  the  foot  and  prays 
to  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  who  are  represented  as  standing  upon 
the  bracket. 

BRASSES   AND    HERALDRY. 

Heraldry  plays  a  very  important  part  in  the  composition  of 
brasses,  and  should  by  no  means  be  neglected.  Small  shields  of 
arms  are  commonly  let  into  the  slabs  towards  the  corners,  and 
within  the  border  fillet,  if  there  be  one.  They  are  engraved  with 
the  armorial  bearings  of  the  person  or  persons  commemorated, 
and  are  of  constant  use  in  the  identification  of  these  persons 
when  the  accompanying  inscription  happens  to  be  lost.  In 
describing  their  positions,  the  heraldic  terms  dexter  and  sinister 
must  always  be  used.  The  dexter  side  is  that  on  the  right  hand 
of  the  effigy,  and  therefore  at  the  spectator's  left,  and  the  sinister 
on  the  effigy's  left  and  spectator's  right.  The  same  terms  must 
be  used  in  describing  the  component  parts  of  each  shield. 

When  a  shield  is  divided  down  the  middle  {party  per  pale), 
with  a  separate  coat  on  either  side,  a  married  couple  is  implied, 
the  husband's  arms  being  on  the  dexter  side,  and  the  wife's  on 
the  sinister.  The  former  is  then  said  to  impale  the  latter.  If  the 
wife  is  an  heiress,  the  coats  are  not  impaled,  but  an  inescutcheon, 
or  small  shield,  bearing  the  wife's  arms,  is  placed  upon  the  centre 
of  those  of  the  husband.  Where  there  are  two  wives,  the  hus- 
band's arms,  on  the  dexter  side,  impale  the  two  wives'  on  the 
sinister,  one  above  the  other. 

When  a  shield  is  divided  into  four  parts,  it  is  said  to  be 
quartered,  and  the  quarters  are  numbered — the  upper  pair,  dexter 
and  sinister,  1st  and  2nd,  and  the  lower  pair  as  before,  3rd  and 
4th.  When  a  man  quarters  two  coats  only,  the  1st  and  4th 
(identical)  are  the  arms  of  his  father,  and  the  2nd  and  3rd  those 
of  his  mother,  or  some  more  remote  ancestress. 

There  are  in  heraldry  two  metals,  gold  and  silver  (yellow  and 
white),  termed  respectively  or  and  argent.  Colours  or  tinctures 
are  more  numerous,  but  the  two  most  common  are  blue  and  red, 
termed  azure  and  gules.  The  others  are  black,  green,  and  purple, 
termed  sable,  vert,  and  purpure.  With  respect  to  metals  and 
tinctures,  the  following  rule  should  be  remembered :  a  metal  is 


ACCESSORIES.  9 1 


never  put  upon  a  metal,  nor  a  colour  upon  a  colour.  A  method 
of  expressing  the  metals  and  colours  by  dots  and  lines  was  in- 
vented at  the  close  of  the  16th  century,  but  is  of  no  impor 
tance  in  relation  to  brasses.  In  these  memorials  the  actual 
colours  were  always  used  in  the  following  manner  :  the  surface  of 
the  brass  was  cut  away,  and  the  cavities  filled  with  coloured 
enamels  or  other  perishable  substances,  of  which,  in  the  vast 
majority  of  examples,  not  a  vestige  now  remains.  Gold  was 
treated  differently,  and  forms  the  key  to  the  armorial  bearings 
of  nearly  all  brasses.  In  this  case  the  brazen  surface  was  not 
cut  away,  but  was  either  gilded  or  left  plain,  though  doubtless 
polished.  Thus  in  a  rubbing,  the  parts  which  appear  black  are 
always  or.     Argent  was  sometimes  represented  by  lead  inlaid. 

Besides  tinctures,  two  kinds  of  fur  were  in  constant  use. 
Ermine,  white  with  black  spots,  with  its  variants  ermines,  sable 
with  white  spots,  and  erminois,  of  which  the  ground  was  or;  the 
latter  may  always  be  determined  at  a  glance.  Fair,  a  blue  and 
white  fur,  was  represented  by  alternate  pieces  in  a  manner  dove- 
tailed together. 

For  the  names  of  charges  and  other  technical  information, 
reference  must  be  made  to  one  of  the  numerous  illustrated 
manuals  and  handbooks  of  heraldry. 

But  coats-of-arms  are  not  confined  to  separate  shields  uncon- 
nected with  the  designs  of  brasses.  They  appear  also  in  various 
parts  of  the  canopies,  as  finials,  or  in  the  spandrils,  or  hung  from 
the  shafts  ;  they  are  sometimes  placed  half-way  down  the  sides  of 
border  fillets,  or  on  either  side  of  the  foot  inscriptions;  they  are 
blazoned  on  banners,  as  at  Felbrigg,  Norfolk,  and  Ashford,  Kent, 
and  on  pennons,  as  at  Stoke  d'Abernon,  Surrey ;  they  appear  on 
war-shields,  as  in  all  knightly  effigies  of  the  reigns  of  Edward  I. 
and  Edward  II.,  and  on  ailettes  or  epaulettes,  as  at  Trumping- 
ham,  Cambs ;  they  are  embroidered  on  the  dress  of  both  knights 
and  their  ladies. 

With  heraldic  dresses  knights  and  ladies  must  be  taken 
separately  : — 

1.  Knights. 

Surcoats  charged  with  armorial  bearings.     A  good   example 
may    be    seen    at    Chartham,    Kent,    1307,    where     Sir 


92  MONUMENTAL   BRASSES. 


Robert  de  Setvans  (Septfans)  has  his  surcoat  semee  {i.e. 
sewn  or  sprinkled)  with  winnowing  fans.  Four  only 
appear  on  his  surcoat,  but  there  are  two  more  upon  his 
ailettes  and  three  on  his  shield. 
Jupons,  at  a  later  date,  are  usually  quite  plain,  but  there  are 
several  instances  of  their  being  charged  with  armorial 
bearings. 

Examples  : — 

Sir  William  de  Aldeburgh,  Aldborough,  Yorks,  c.  1360. 
Lord  John  Harsick,  Southacre,  Norfolk,  13S4. 
Sir  William  Bagot,  Baginton,  Warwick,  1407. 

Tabards-of-arms  came  into  use  at  about  the  middle  of  the 
15th  century,  and  continued  till  the  reign  of  Elizabeth. 
Since  then  they  have  been  worn  only  by  heralds  on 
great  public  occasions.  They  were  short  coats  of  silk, 
worn  over  the  body-armour,  and  reaching  to  the  thighs. 
The  wearer's  arms  were  embroidered  on  the  front  and 
on  the  back,  and  were  repeated  on  each  sleeve. 
Examples  : — 

William  Fynderne,  Esq.,  Childrey,  Berks,  1444. 
Sir  John  Say,  Broxbourne,  Herts,  1473. 
Sir  Roger  l'Estrange,  Hunstanton,  Norfolk,  1506. 
Sir  William  Gascoigne,  Cardington,  Beds,  c.  1540. 

2.  Ladies. 

Several  methods  of  blazoning  ladies'  dresses  were  in  vogue. 
One  of  the  earliest  was  to  embroider  the  lady's  own 
arms  on  her  kirtle,  and  her  husband's  arms  on  her 
mantle. 

Examples  : — 

Two  of  the  Clopton  family,  Long  Melford,  Suffolk,  c.  1480. 
Jane  and   Elizabeth   Gascoigne  (Pickering  and    Mowbray),    Cardington, 
Beds,  c.  1540. 

Another  was  to  blazon  only  the  mantle,  placing  the  husband's 
arms  on  the  dexter  side  and  the  lady's  on  the  sinister. 

Examples  : — 

Joyce,  Lady  Tiptoft  (very  fine),  Enfield,  Middlesex,  1446. 
Bridget  and  Elizabeth   Style    (Bauldry  and   Peryn),   Beckenham,'  Kent, 
1552. 

Sometimes,  and  especially  in  late  brasses,  the  husband's  arms 


ACCESSORIES.  93 


were  omitted,  and  the  lady's  embroidered  alone  on  her 
mantle. 

Examples  : — ■ 

Mary  Burgoyn,  Impington,  Cambs,  1505. 
Joyce  Pekham,  Wrotham,  Kent,  1525. 

Crests  are  frequently  given  in  brasses.  The  knight  pillows 
his  head  upon  a  helmet,  and  from  it,  or  rather  from  a 
wreath  (of  two  colours,  twisted  like  a  turban),  rises  the 
crest.  A  handsome  mantling,  and  lambrequins,  or  orna- 
mental foliage,  are  frequently  added.  The  helm,  wreath, 
crest,  and  mantling,  together  with  the  shield  of  arms, 
are  sometimes  placed  apart  from  and  above  the  figure, 
making  what  is  called  an  achievement. 

Badges  appear  in  some  few  instances,  especially  in  the 
memorials  of  crown-keepers  and  yeomen-of-the-guard, 
who  are  distinguished  by  a  rose  and  crown.  There  is 
a  good  example  at  East  Wickham,  Kent,  to  William 
Payn,  1568.  At  Digswell,  Herts,  a  swan  is  seen 
embroidered  on  the  collar  of  Lady  Peryent,  141 5,  a 
unique  usage.  A  small  rectangular  unnamed  brass,  in 
the  possession  of  the  Surrey  Archaeological  Society,  has 
its  field  semee  of  fire-beacons,  the  badge  of  the  Comp- 
ton  family. 

Collars  are  much  worn  by  knights  and  ladies  of  the 
15th  century.  The  Lancastrian  collar  of  SS.,  and  the 
Yorkist  collar  of  Suns  and  Roses,  are  the  most  usual. 

The  Order  of  the  Garter.  Sir  Thomas  Bullen,  at  Hever, 
wears  the  full  insignia  of  the  order,  mantle,  collar,  hood, 
badge,  and  garter.  In  other  instances  we  find  only  the 
garter,  buckled  round  the  left  leg,  below  the  knee. 

Examples  : — 

Sir  Peter  Courtenay,  Exeter  Cathedral,  1409. 
Sir  Simon  de  Felbrigge,  Felbrig,  Norfolk,  1413. 
Lord  Camoys,  Trotton,  Sussex,  1424. 
Sir  Henry  Bourchier,  Little  Easton,  Essex,  14S3. 
Sir  Thomas  Bullen,  Hever,  Kent,  I5.?S. 

Merchants'  Marks  are  very  frequently  found  engraved  upon 
shields,  especially  from  c.  1450  to  c.  1550,  in  the  place 
of  armorial  bearings,  which,  in  their  case,  were  granted 
only  to  Corporate  Companies. 


94  MONUMENTAL   BRASSES. 


INSCRIPTIONS. 

Inscriptions  vary  from  century  to  century  quite  as  much  as  any 
other  parts  of  a  brass. 

There  are  three  kinds  of  type  : — 

1.  Lombai'dic,  called  also  Uncial,  Longobardic,  and  Lombardic- 
Uncial.  The  letters  are  broad,  well-formed,  and  easily  read. 
They  were  used  in  the  13th  and  at  the  beginning  of  the  14th 
centuries. 

2    Elack-letter,  or  Old  English. 

(a)  Early,  of  a  round  character,  being  influenced  by  the 

Lombardic,  which  preceded  it.     Used  during  the  14th 

century. 
{¥)  Straight.     The   letters   all  composed   more   or   less  of 

straight  lines,  which  very  nearly  resemble  one  another, 

and  are  sometimes  exceedingly  difficult  to  read.     Used 

during  the  15th  century. 
(c)   Tudor.     Again  a  more  rounded  type,  the  letters  being 

much  more  fanciful,  ornamental,  and  easily  read.    Used 

during  the  16th  century. 

3.  Roman  Capitals.  Came  into  general  use  in  the  17th  cen- 
tury. 

The  earliest  inscriptions  were  placed  round  the.  edge  of  the 
slab,  and  every  letter  was  cut  out  separately,  and  inserted  in  its 
own  matrix.  Thin  fillets  of  metal  were  placed  above  and  below 
the  line,  in  order  to  protect  the  letters.  At  the  present  time 
scarcely  one  remains,  but  the  indents  are  often  sufficiently  well 
marked  for  the  inscription  to  be  read  without  any  great  difficulty. 
In  such  inscriptions  the  character  was  always  Lombardic. 

A  better  method  was  to  engrave  the  inscription  upon  a  single 
fillet  running  all  round  the  edge  of  the  slab.  In  the  early  part 
of  the  14th  century  these  border  fillets  had  plain  angles,  hut 
towards  its  close  the  corners  were  occupied  usually  by  the  four 
evangelistic  symbols,  engraved  in  a  quatrefoil  projecting  from  a 
square  set  lozenge-wise.  Thus  we  have  constantly  the  angel  for 
St.  Matthew,  the  lion  fur  St.  Mark,  the  ox  for  St.  Luke,  and  the 


ACCESSORIES.  95 


eagle  for  St.  John.  At  the  same  time  it  became  customary  to 
add  a  second  inscription,  which  was  written  upon  a  rectangular 
plate,  and  placed  at  the  feet  of  the  effigy  or  effigies. 

In  the  15th  century  the  foot  inscription  was  generally  the  only 
one,  and  was  always  present,  whether  there  was  a  border  fillet  or 
not.  The  latter  was  only  retained  in  the  more  elaborate  brasses. 
When  a  brass  was  raised  upon  an  altar-tomb,  the  border  fillet 
was  commonly  placed  in  chamfer,  i.e.  on  the  sloping  verge  of  the 
tomb,  and  was  read  from  outside,  instead  of  from  the  inside,  as 
was  always  the  case  where  it  was  flat. 

In  the  1 6th  century  the  border  fillet  was  rarely  used,  and  has 
entirely  disappeared  by  the  time  that  the  next  century  is  reached. 

Three  languages  are  used,  viz.,  Norman-French,  Latin,  and 
English. 

1.  Norman-French,  the  language  of  the  court  and  of  the 
nobility,  is  commonly  used  on  brasses  of  the  13th  and  the  begin- 
ning of  the  14th  centuries. 

With  a  little  knowledge  of  modern  French  these  inscriptions 
may  be  easily  read,  since  scarcely  any  contractions  are  used.  A 
few  simple  rules  may  be  given  : — 

i.  The  spelling  is  more  or  less  phonetic.     Thus  c  and  s,  s  and 

x,  y  and  i  may  be  used  interchangeably,  e.g.,  cis  =  six, 

and  ycy  =  ici. 
ii.  The  letter  s  is  often  inserted  before  another  consonant. 

Thus  aisne  or  eisne  =  aine,  fest  =  fete,  fist  =  fit,  gist  =  git, 

morust  =  mourut. 
iii.  The  letter  u  is  omitted.     Thus  cely  =  celui,   gere=  guerre, 

qi  or  ky  =  qui,  ly  =  lui. 
iv.  Malme  is  written  for  mon  ame,  lalme  for  Fame,  etc. 
v.   In  these  and  in  all  other  inscriptions,  Latin  and  English, 

j  and  v  are  represented  by  i  and  u. 

The  earliest  inscriptions  are  the  most  simple,  giving  only  the 
name  and  a  prayer  for  mercy.  The  date  and  other  particulars 
were  soon  added. 

Slokc  tV '  Abernon,  Surrey.      1277. 

Sire  :  fohn  :  Daubernoun  :  Chiualicr  :  Gist  :  Icy  :  Dcu  :  Do  :  Sa  : 
Alme  :  Eyt  :  -Meicy. 


g6  MONUMENTAL   BRASSES. 

St.  Michael's,  St.  Alban's.     c.  1330. 

John  Pecok  &  Maud  sa  femme  gisont  yci  dieu  de  lour  almes  eit 
merci  ame. 

Cobhain,  Kent.     1375. 

>J<  Icy  gist  dame  Margarete  deCobehm  iadis  femme  a  Will  Pympe 
Chiualier  qe  morust  le  I  III  iour  de  Septembre  Ian  de  grace 
Mil  ccc  Ixxv  de  qi  alme  dieu  pur  sa  pite  eit  mercy  amen. 

All  Hallows'  Barking,  Lo?ido?i.     c.  1400. 

>J<  Pries  p'  lalme  Willm  Tonge  q  gyt  ycy  ky  dieu  de  sonn  alme  eyt 
mercy. 

Cobham,  Kent.      1407. 

\%i  De  Tene  fu  fait  et  fourme 

X   Et  en  Terre  et  a  tene  suy  retourne 

X  Johan  de  Cobham  foundeur  de  ceste  place  qi  fu  iadys  nome 

X  Mercy  de  malme  eit  la  seynte  Trinite. 

2.  Latin.  The  language  of  nearly  all  inscriptions  of  the  15th 
century.  Both  before  and  after  that  period  it  was  used  more 
sparingly,  dividing  the  honours,  first  with  French  and  afterwards 
with  English.  The  chief  difficulties  in  reading  Latin  inscriptions 
are  to  be  found  in  the  various  abbreviations  which  were  constantly 
used.  The  greater  number  of  them  will,  however,  come  under 
the  three  heads  following. 

i.  The  syllables  pro,  per,  prae  are  rarely  written  in  full,  but 
are  represented   merely  by  their  initial  letter,  with  or 
without  an  apostrophe.     Thus,  p'fectus  for  perfectus. 
ii.  The  letters  m  and  11  are  always  omitted  where  possible. 
A  straight  line  over  the  next  vowel  shows  their  position. 
Thus,  ale  for  animae. 
iii.  Terminations  of  all  kinds  are  liable  to  be  cut  off  without 
any  other  compensation   than    an  apostrophe.     Thus, 
ux'  for  uxor,  ei'  for  ejus. 
Several  common  words  are  abbreviated  without  following  any 
rule  ;  such  as  Diis  for  Dominus,  ecclia  for  ecclesia,  xps  for  christus, 
Johes  for  Johannes.     The  letter  c  is  often  written  instead  of  /,  as 
in  tercius  and  eciam  for  tertius  and  etiam. 

The  greater  number  of  inscriptions  begin  with  the  words  "  Hie 
jacet ;"  then  follows  the  name  and  rank  of  the  deceased,  and  the 
date  of  his  death  ;  all  alike  end  with  the  phrase,  "  Cujus  anime 
propitietur  deus,  Amen."  This  is  usually  abbreviated  to  "  Cui' 
ale  ppiciet'  de'  ame,"  or  sometimes  to  the  bare  letters  c.a.p.d.a. 


ACCESSORIES.  97 


In  Tudor  inscriptions  the  "Hie  jacet  "  frequently  gives  place  to 
the  alternative  phrase  "  Orate  pro  anima."  Shortened  to  "  Or' 
p'  aia." 

A  second  plate,  inscribed  with  elegiac  verses,  is  often  added. 

The  following  are  instances  : — 

Croydon,  Surrey.      1512. 

Silvester  Gabriel  cuius  lapis  hie  teglt  ossa 

Vera  sacerdotum  gloria  nuper  erat 
Legis  nemo  sacre  clivina  volumina  verbis 

Clarius  aut  vita  sanctius  explicuit 
Cominus  ergo  deu  modo  felix  eminus  almis 

Qeve  piu"s  in  scriptis  viderat  ante  videt. 

The  next  takes  the  form  of  an  address  to  the  reader  : — 

Biddenden,  Kent.     1609. 

Scire  cupis  (lector)  tumulo  quis  conditur  istp 

Accipe  :  in  hoc  tumulo  foemina  virque  jacent 
Quosque  prius  thorus  unus  amor  conjunxerat  unus. 

Unica  defunctos  nunc  tenet  urna  duos 
Urna  quidem  corpus  tenet  hujus  et  illius  una 

Unitas  animas  iulgidus  aether  habet. 

We  find  also  another  kind  of  verses,  known  as  Leonine,  in 
which  the  lines  are  made  to  rhyme.  It  was  at  one  time  highly 
fashionable. 

Wimington,  Beds.     1407. 

Hie  Margareta  :  de  Brounflet  laude  repleta. 
Est  Edward  nata  ;  Seynt  Jon  chivaler  tumula. 
Non  lateat  te  res  :  Dno  Vessy  fuit  lieres. 
Militis  in  vita  :  Thome  Brounfletque  marita 
Quinque  per  hos  natis  :  una  nata  generatus. 
In  Womyngtona bona  :  corruit  ista  patrona, 
Morte  die  Mensis  :  viceno  victa  secundo. 
Octobris  mundi :  picta  more  ferit  necis  ensis. 
Annos  Milienos:  C  quater  suscipe  plenos. 
Ai Kieris  septenos  :  domum  celistis  amenos. 
Nata  pater  domine  :  Flamen  deus  vince  tue. 
Hanc  Margaretam  :  tibi  luce  poli  cape  letam. 

The  following  exhortation  was  highly  popular  : — 

East  Horsley,  Surrey.     14 "S. 

Quisquis  eris  qui  transieris  sta  plege  plora 
Sum  q'1  eris  fueraq'  qd  es  :  pro  me  precor  ora. 

This  also  : — 

Temple  Church,  Bristol.      1 396. 

Es  testis  xpe  :  qd'  non  jacet  hie  lapis  iste 
Corpus  ut  ornet'  :  spe  ut  memoret' 


93 


MONUMENTAL    BRASSES. 


Huic  tu  qui  transis  :  magnus  medius  puer  an  sis 
Pro  me  fuiule  preces  :  dabit  michi  sic  venie  spes. 

The  translation  of  titles  is  in  many  cases  perfectly  obvious. 
The  following,  however,  do  not  at  first  sight  suggest  their  English 
equivalents  : — 


Miles 

=  Knight. 

Prepositus       =  Provost. 

Armiger 

=  Escmire. 

Decanus           =  Dean. 

Generosus 

=  Gentleman. 

Cnpellanus       =  Chaplain. 

Comes 

=  Earl. 

Elemosinarius  =  Almoner. 

Consul 

=  Counsellor. 

Domicella        =  Maid  of  Honour 

Camerarius 

=  Chamberlain. 

Pannarius        =  Diaper. 

Pincerna 

—  Cup-beaier. 

Pelliparius      =  Tanner. 

3.  English.  Here  we  have  several  difficulties  to  overcome, 
such  as  obsolete  words  and  forms,  random  spelling,  and  arbitrary 
abbreviations.  The  dialect  and  spelling  of  the  earlier  inscriptions 
is  in  the  main  that  of  Chaucer  and  Wiclif,  and  may  be  best 
mastered  by  reading  the  "  Canterbury  Tales,"  which  might,  in 
costume  as  well  as  in  language,  be  illustrated  throughout  by 
brasses  ;  or  the  Holy  Scriptures  according  to  the  quaint  Saxon 
translation  of  the  Oxford  Schoolman.  When  once  the  dialect 
is  familiar,  the  abbreviated  words  can  be  filled  out  with  the 
greatest  ease. 

Before  the  Reformation  the  great  majority  of  English  in- 
scriptions began  with  the  words,  "  Of  your  charity  pray  for  the 
soul  of,"  or  more  simply,  "  Pray  for  the  soul  of,"  and  ended  "  On 
whose  soul  Jesus  have  mercy.  Amen."  The  concluding  phrase 
was  often  amplified  by  the  addition,  after  "  On  whose  soul,"  of 
"and  all  Christian  souls."  Sometimes  it  was  still  further  amplified, 
as  at  Stifford,  Essex,  1504,  "  Of  your  charite  pray  for  the  soulle 
of  John  Ardalle  .  .  .  and  for  his  fader  soulle  and  his  moder 
soulle  and  all  crystyn  soullys  on  whose  soullys  ihu  have  mercy 
amen."  Or  more  explicitly,  "  Of  whose  soul  of  your  charity  say 
a  paternoster  and  an  ave." 

In  cases  where  the  brass  was  laid  down  before  the  person's 
death,  the  date  of  decease  was  necessarily  omitted,  and  we 
frequently  find  blank  spaces  which  have  never  been  filled  up. 
Some  of  these  inscriptions  to  the  living  substitute  "  good  estate  " 
for  "soul." 

It  is  exceedingly  common  to  find  that  the  opening  and  con- 


ACCESSORIES.  99 


eluding  clauses  have  been  totally  or  partially  erased,  especially  in 
and  near  London.  This  was  probably  done  at  the  Reformation 
by  the  children  of  the  persons  commemorated,  in  order  that  the 
Royal  Commissioners  might  not  tear  up  the  brasses  as  "  popish." 
Verses  are  often  found  in  addition  to,  or  instead  of,  the  ordinary 
prose  inscription  :— 

Ilolm-next-the-Sea,  Norfolk,     c.  1405. 

Ilerry  Notyngham  &  hys  wyffe  lyne  here 
Yat  mack-h  this  chirche  stepull  &  quere 
Two  vestments  and  belles  they  made  also 
Crist  hem  save  therfore  ffro  wo 
Ande  to  bringe  her  saules  to  blis  at  heven 
Sayth  pater  &  ave  with  mylde  Steven. 

Ash,  Kent.     c.  1460. 

Prey  for  the  sowle  of  Jane  Keriell 
Ye  ffrendis  alle  that  forth  by  pass 
In  endeles  lyff  perpetuell 
That  god  it  grawnte  m'cy  and  grace 
Roger  Cletherowe  hir  fadir  was 
Thowgh  erthe  to  erthe  of  kynde  reto'ne 
Prey  that  the  sowle  in  blisse  sojo'ne. 

Cople,  Bedfordshire,     c.  1500. 

What  can  myght  powr  or  auncyet  bloode  avayll 

Or  els  ryches,  that  men  cownte  fclicite 

What  can  they  helpe,  ferfull  dethe  to  assayll 

Certes  nolhynge,  and  that  is  p(ro)vyd  by  me 

That  had  thos  yistis  rehersid  w'  all  plente 

NevthelesNe  y it  am  I  leyd  lowe  in  clay 

That  whylom  was  squyer  called  thos  g'y.      (Giay.) 

Benet  my  wyf  eke  is  fro  this  world  past 

y it  We  trust  to  be  had  in  memory 

As  longe  as  the  paryshe  of  Coople  shall  last 

For  our  benefitis  don  to  it  largely. 

As  witnesse  xx1'  pownd  wt  other  yi>ti>  many 

WheiTor  all  cristen  men  that  goo  by  this  way 

P'y  for  ye   soulis  of  lienet  and  Thus  gray. 

Romney,  Kent.      15 10. 

Of  yor  charite  pray  fur  me 

Thomas  Lamberd  of  Romeney 

Which  dyed  the  xxiiii  day  of  August 

In  lyke  wyse  so  alle  ye  must 

fir  dethe  is  sure  to  Alle  mankynde 

therefore  have  my  suule  in  mynde 

Which  ended  MVX 

I  ye  yeres  of  hym  yt  dyed  for  alle  nun. 

From  these  examples  it  will  he  seen  that  not  only  is  the  spell- 


IOO 


MONUMENTAL   BRASSES. 


ing  peculiar,  but  the  versification  faulty,  and  that    to  an  extreme 
degree. 

A  glossary  of  the  more  common   archaic  words   will  probably 
be  useful : — 


almys 

= 

alms. 

mede 

— 

merit. 

auncynt 

= 

ancient. 

moder 

= 

mother. 

aungeles 

= 

angels. 

or 

= 

our. 

awtere 

= 

altar. 

pish 

= 

parish. 

bles 

= 

bliss. 

pson 

= 

parson. 

certes 

= 

surely. 

quere 

= 

choir  or  clancel. 

cheyffe 

= 

chief. 

redecion 

= 

redemption. 

crysten 

= 

christian. 

sowlys 

= 

souls. 

deptyd 

= 

departed. 

Steven 

= 

staves  of  music. 

eke 

= 

also. 

s'teyne 

= 

certain. 

erchdiakn 

= 

archdeacon. 

thred 

= 

third. 

eyre 

= 

heir,  heiress. 

twey 

= 

two. 

fadyr 

= 

father. 

vestment 

= 

a  set  of  vestments 

ffro 

= 

from. 

wen 

= 

think. 

halud 

= 

hallowed. 

whylom 

= 

once. 

hem 

= 

them. 

wot 

= 

know. 

her 

= 

their. 

yat 

= 

that. 

mad  en 

= 

made   (and    simi- 

ys 

= 

this. 

larly  other  verbs.) 

yistis 

= 

gifts. 

mci 

= 

mercy. 

After  the  Reformation  the  prayers  for  the  soul  of  course  dis- 
appeared. Inscriptions  began,  "  Here,  or  under  this  stone,  l)eth 
the  body  of,"  and  occasionally  ended  with,  "To  whom  God  grant 
a  joyful  resurrection.''  The  old  simplicity  and  piety  often  gave 
place  to  lengthy  and  fulsome  flatteries  of  the  deceased  person, 
and  the  character  of  the  composition  at  last  reached  as  low  an 
«bb  as  the  art  of  engraving  to  which  it  ministered.  But  the 
change  was  gradual,  and  many  of  the  inscriptions  remain  of  the 
highest  interest. 

The  two  following  will  supply  examples  of  the  kind  of  prose 
\nscriptions  in  vogue  after  the  Reformation: — 

Bidchnden,  Kent.      159S. 

John  Evrenden  beinge  of  the  age  of  threescore  yeares  havinge 
passed  the  tyme  of  his  pilgrimage  with  good  and  godly  report 
hath  finished  his  mortall  days.  His  wives  were  two,  Jone  and 
Jane.  With  the  first  he  lived  twentye-five  yeares  and  had 
issue  William  Eerdinando  Isabell  and  l'hebe  ;  with  the  other 
seven  yeares  and  had  noe  issue  and  now  lyeth  under  this 
marble  stone  who  was  buried  the  thirteenth  day  of  Aprill 
1598. 


ACCESSORIES.  10 1 


Ileadcorn,  Kent,     1636. 

Here  lyeth  the  body  of  John  Byrd  sonn  of  William  Byrd  of 
this  parish  of  Headcorn,  who  was  borne  the  10"'  of  Mav  1629, 
and  in  the  time  of  his  sicknesse  delivered  many  (iodly  ex- 
hortations to  his  parents,  taking  his  leave  of  them  with  such 
unexpected  expressions  as  are  not  common  in  so  young  a 
child  he  departed  this  life  on  the  31st  of  January,  anno.  1636. 

Verse  inscriptions  abound,  and  are  of  all  kinds  ;  the  two 
examples  below  have  little  in  common  with  one  another : — 

lydd,  Kent.     1572. 

As  nature  breath  &  lyfe  doth  yelde, 

So  drawes  on  death  by  kynde 

And  yet  through  fayth  in  Chryste  by  deathe 

Eternall  lyfe  we  fynde. 

Behold  a  profe  by  me  that  dyd, 

Emoye  my  vitall  breath  ; 

Full  thre  skore  yeres  &  twelve  thereto, 

And  then  gave  place  to  death 

A  Jur.itt  of  thys  Tovvne  was  I, 

And  Thomas  Bate  by  name, 

Leke  the  I  was,  and  now  am  dust 

As  thow  shalt  be  the  same 

Fower  chyldren  now  my  place  supp'ye 

My  soule  it  ys  wyth  Chryst, 

Who  sende  to  them  and  the  good  lyfe, 

And  eke  in  hym  to  rest. 

Rye,  Sussex.     1607. 

Loe  Thomas  Ilamon  here  enterd  doth  lye 
Thrice  burgesse  for  the  parliament  elected 
Six  times  by  freemens  choyce  made  maior  of  Rye 
And  Captaine  longetime  of  the  band  selected 
Whose  prudent  courage  justice  gravitie 
Deserves  a  monument  ofmemorye. 

At  Stifford,  Essex,  we  have  a  curious  instance  of  one  inscrip- 
tion imitating  another,  a  mother  having  died  some  three  years 
after  her  daughter.  The  two  brasses  are  quite  distinct,  and  the 
epitaphs  run  as  follows  : — 

Ann  Lathum,  daughter  of  Thos.  Lathum.      1627. 

Behold  in  me  the  life  of  man 

Compared  by  David  to  a  span 

Who  in  my  strength  death  cal'd  away 

Before  the  middle  of  my  '1  tye 

Let  freinds  and  parents  weepe  no  more 

Her's  all  the  odds  I  went  before 

And  let  them  sone  their  lives  amend 

That  death  may  he  a  welcombe  fre  1   I. 


102  MONUMENTAL   BRASSES. 


Eliztli.  Latkutn,  w:fe  of  Thos.  Lathiim.     1630. 

Yet  once  Againe  behold  and  see 
The  frayletie  of  this  life  in  me 
And  as  t'vvas  sayd  to  me  before 
Let  freinds  and  parents  weepe  no  more 
So  I  may  now  the  phrase  returne 
Let  children  all  forbeare  to  mourne 
And  let  them  all  in  love  remayne 
And  be  prepar'd  heaven  to  attayne. 

Punning  is  frequently  resorted  to,  as  well  in  Latin  as  in  Eng- 
lish.    Two  very  similar  examples  will  suffice : — 

Thos.  Hylle,  New  College,  Oxford.     1468. 

Mons  in  valle  jacet  :  quern  tu  deus  erige  rursum 
Ut  valeat  montem  cristu  p'fingere  sursum 

Thos.  Grenhill,  Beddington,  Surrey.     1 634. 

Hee  once  a  Hill  was  fresh  &  Greene 
Now  wither'd  is  not  to  bee  seene 
Earth  in  Earth  shoveld  up  is  shut 
A  Hill  into  a  Hole  is  put. 

Scrolls  are  seen  issuing  from  the  mouths  or  hands  of  15th  nnd 
1 6th  century  figures,  and  curving  upwards  over  the  head.  They 
are  inscribed  for  the  most  part  with  pious  sentences,  ejaculatory 
prayers,  and  are  usually  in  the  Latin  language. 

They  may  be  divided  into  several  classes  : — 

Invocations  of  the  Holy  Trinity. 

Sancta  Tiinitas  unus  deus  miserere  nobis. 

1  libera  nos 
O  beata  Tiinitas?  justifica  nos 

(  salva  nos 

Invocations  of  God  the  Father. 

Tater  de  celis  deus  miserere  nobis. 

Miserere  mei  deus. 

Deus  propicius  esto  milii  peccatori 

Sit  laus  deo. 

Cor  mundum  crea  in  me  deus. 

Invocations  of  God  the  Son. 

Jhu  fili  dei  miserere  mei. 

Domine  Jhu  secundum  actum  meum  noli  me  jurlicare. 
Vulnera  xpe  tua  mihi  dulcis  sint  medicina. 
Virginis  atque  dei  fili  cracifixe  redemptor  Humani 

generis  :  xpe  memento  mei. 
Exuhabo  in  deo  Jhu  meo 


ACCESSORIES.  10' 


In  domino  cunfulo. 

f  red  emptor  mens  vivit. 
Credo  quod   i  de  terra  surrecturus  sum 

(in  carne  mea  videbo  ileum  salvatorem  meum. 


Invocations  of  God  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Spiritus  sancte  deus  miserere  nobis. 

Invocations  of  the  Virgin  Mary. 

Sancta  Maria  ora  pro  nobis. 

Mater  dei  memento  mei. 

O  virgo  virginum  ora  pro  nobis  tuum  filium. 

Occasionally  they  appear  in  English  : — 

E  ex  ley,  Kent.     15 13. 

What  so  ever  my  dedys  have  bee 
of  me  allmyghty  Jhii  have  mercy. 

Cars/ul/on,  Surrey.      1 524. 

0  blyssyd  lady  of  pite  py  for  me 
y   my  soule  savyd  may  be. 

With  the  Reformation  their  character  completely  changed. 
Scrolls  still  continued  sparingly  in  use,  though  the  reason  for  their 
existence  was  gone,  viz ,  as  vehicles  of  invocatory  prayers. 

A  few  examples  will  show  the  change  : — 

Taedet  animam  meam  vitae  meae. 
Cupio  dissolvi  et  esse  cum  Christo. 
Vive  pius  moriere  pins. 
Diis  dedit  tins  abstulit. 

1  know  that  my  redeemer  liveth. 
I  rejoice  only  in  the  Lord. 

On  some  few  brass  slabs  of  the  15th  century  small  scrolls  are 
scattered  about  on  each  side  of  the  figure,  and  inscribed  with  one 
or  two  words  only.  These  words  are  usually  "  Jhu,"  "mercy," 
"Grace,"  "  Misericordia,"  "Jesu  mercy,"  or  "Lady  helpe."  The 
two  last  are  perhaps  the  most  common. 


v.  SUMttonal  Classes, 


FLEMISH    BRASSES. 

Among  brasses  of  more  than  usual  interest  are  those  engraved 
by  foreign  artists.  A  number  of  these  exist  in  England,  and  are 
commonly  spoken  of  as  "  Flemish."  They  are  to  be  found  not 
only  in  Belgium  and  England,  but  more  frequently  in  North 
Germany.  Instances  occur  also  in  Denmark,  Poland,  and  other 
countries.  They  are  usually  of  great  magnificence,  and  differ  in 
style  very  materially  fiom  those  commonly  used  in  England. 
In  most  cases  they  are  rectangular  in  shape,  the  figures  being 
engraved  upon  a  background  of  diaper-work  beneath  splendid 
canopies.  In  size  they  often  measure  ten  or  twelve  by  five  or  six 
feet.  Figures  alone,  without  canopy  or  background,  sometimes 
occur,  but  never  become  the  rule,  as  in  England.  There  are 
many  minor  differences  in  style,  which  can  best  be  learnt  by  an 
examination  of  the  Anglo-Flemish  examples,  or  of  Mr.  Creeny's 
very  fine  volume  of  photo-lithographs. 

Twenty  or  more  Anglo-Flemish  brasses  remain  to  us,  and  they 
fall  naturally  into  several  groups. 

First  come  four  great  brasses,  the  largest  as  well  as  the  most 
beautiful  in  all  England.  They  are  evidently  from  the  hands 
of  a  single  artist,  the  engraver  of  certain  other  magnificent 
memorials  at  Lubeck  and  Schwerin  in  North  Germany. 

They  commemorate : — 

Adam  de  Walsokne  and  wife   Margaret      10  ft.  X  5  ft.    7  in.      A'ing's 
Lynn,  Norfolk,     a.d.  1349. 

Alan  Fleming.     9  ft.  4  in.  x  5  ft.  7  in.     Newark,  Nottinghamshire,     a.d. 
1361. 

Robert   Braunche,  and   two  wives.     8  ft.  Sin.  x  5ft.  5 in.     King's  Lynn, 
Norfolk,     a.d.  1364. 

Abbot  Thomas  Delamere.     9  ft.   3^  in.  X  4  ft.   3^  ft.     St.  Aldan's  Abbey, 
Hertfordshire,     c.  a.d.  1375. 

All    these    are    well    described    in    Boutell's    "  Monumental 

Brasses."     The  last   is   known    to  have   been  engraved   in   the 

101 


ADDITIONAL  CLASSES.  105 

abbot's  lifetime  and  under  his  own  superintendence,  a  practice 
which  was  in  all  probability  exceedingly  common. 

A  fragment  of  another  work  by  the  same  artist  is  preserved 
in  the  British  Museum.  It  shows  the  mitred  head  of  an  abbot  or 
bishop,  with  part  of  the  surrounding  canopy  and  groundwork,  and 
bears  a  strong  similarity  to  the  corresponding  parts  of  the 
Delamere  brass. 

A  noticeable  feature  in  these  brasses  is  the  disposition  and 
grouping  of  a  number  of  minor  figures  round  the  person  or  per- 
sons actually  commemorated.  Each  is  placed  within  a  separate 
niche,  and  under  its  own  canopy.  At  the  top  there  is  invariably 
a  representation  of  the  Deity  enthroned,  and  to  Him  is  carried 
by  two  angels  the  soul  of  the  deceased,  symbolized  by  a  naked 
figure  standing  in  a  sheet.  On  either  side  are  angels,  swinging 
censers  or  playing  upon  musical  instruments.  The  shafts  of  the 
canopy  are  occupied  by  saints  and  prophets,  usually  in  pairs. 
At  St.  Alban's,  Offa,  king  of  Mercia,  founder  of  the  abbey,  stands 
upon  one  side,  and  the  proto-martyr  Alban  himself  on  the  other. 
Below  the  figures  there  is  frequently  a  space  in  which  the 
engraver  can  give  freer  scope  to  his  artistic  powers.  Thus  at 
Lynn  we  have  a  hunting  scene  in  the  Walsokne  brass,  and  a 
royal  peacock-feast  in  the  Braunche. 

Next  in  importance  come  the  brasses  of  two  parisn  priests  : — 

Simon  de  Wensley  (name  uncertain),  c.  1360.  Wensley,  Yorkshire. 
Thomas  de  Horton.  c.  1360.  North  Mimnis,  Hertfordshire. 
The  former  of  these  consists  of  a  figure  only,  but  so  engraved 
that  there  is  not  the  smallest  doubt  of  its  Flemish  origin.  The 
priest  is  nearly  life-size,  and  is  dressed  in  eucharistic  vestments, 
all  the  apparels  of  which  are  beautifully  diapered.  The  principal 
lines  are  very  broad,  and  cut  with  great  boldness,  exhibiting 
another  characteristic  feature  of  Flemish  workmanship. 

At  North  Mimms  the  figure  is  much  smaller,  but  in  style  not 
unlike  that  at  Wensley.  A  canopy  of  the  usual  t>pe  is  added, 
but  is  cut  away  round  the  figure  itself. 

Other  Flemish  brasses  are  of  a  more  miscellaneous  character- 
Ralph  de  Knevyngton,  Esq.      1370.     Azelcy,  E.scx.     In  armour  ;  small  ; 

canopy  plain. 
Thomns  de  TopclyfT,   and  wife.      1391.     5  f<-  9  '"•  *  3  ft.  '  >"•     Cm 
with  souls,  angels,  etc.      Topcliffe,   Yorkshire. 


106  MONUMENTAL   BRASSES. 

Roger  Thornton,  and  wife.      1429.     All  Saints',  Nexucastle.      7  ft.  6  in.  X 

4  ft.  3  in.     Souls,  angels,  etc. 
Margaret    Hornebolt.       1529.       Firfham,    Middlesex.       Lozenge-shaped 

mural  plate  ;  demi-figure  in  shroud. 
Thomas  Pownder,  and  wife.      1525.     St.  Mary  Quay,  Ipswich. 
Andrew  Evyngar,  and  wife.      1536.     All  Hallows  Barking,  London. 

The  two  last  are  similar  in  many  respects.  They  are  ot 
medium  size,  and  more  pictorial  than  brasses  of  earlier  date. 
The  members  of  the  family  are  grouped  together  upon  a  pave- 
ment, and  individual  portraits  are  evidently  intended. 

Two  wholly  foreign  brasses  are  preserved  in  the  museums  of 
London,  and  deserve  careful  attention  : — 

Ludowic  CoRTF.wiLLE,  AND  wike.  1504.  Geological  Museum,  Jermyn 
Street,  Piccadilly.  Size  :  6  ft.  8  in.  X3  ft.  6  in. 
Brought  from  the  chapel  of  the  ruined  castle  of  Cortville,  near  Liege.  Male 
figure  in  armour :  collar  of  mail,  cuirass  protected  by  placcates  or 
demi-placcates,  pauldrons  and  coutes  with  large  arming  points,  short 
skirt  of  taces,  lour  tuilles,  mail  skirt,  sword-belt  and  sword,  usual 
leg  armour  and  broad  sabbatons.  Lady  in  plain  thick  veil  head-dress, 
lace  collar,  and  gown  with  wide  fur-lined  sleeves. 

Henry  Oskens,  priest.     1535.     South  Kensington  Museum. 
2  ft.  9  in.  x  1  ft.  10^  in. 

Originally  at  Nippes,  near  Cologne,  it  was  transferred  to  the  museum  of  the 
Archbishop  of  that  city,  and  afterwards  found  its  way  to  Paris,  where 
it  was  purchased  in  1866  for  ,£20  by  the  South  Kensington  authorities. 
The  brass  consists  of  four  figures  within  an  elaborate  canopy  of  renais- 
sance architecture.  In  the  centre  is  a  beautiful  Virgin,  some  fourteen 
inches  high,  standing  upon  a  crescent,  and  surrounded  by  a  glory  of 
fiery  rays.  On  her  right  arm  she  bears  the  Holy  Child,  who  holds 
a  large  Tau  cross.  On  her  right  stands  St.  Peter,  and  on  her  left  the 
.  emperor  St.  Henry,  crowned  and  in  armour.  Below  him  kneels  the 
priest,  "  Cantor  et  Canonicns  huius  £cclesie,"  vested  in  a  surplice. 

Besides  the  above-mentioned,  there  are  a  considerable  number 
of  English  brasses,  which,  on  being  detached  from  their  stone 
matrices,  have  been  found  to  have  been  cut  from  older  plates  of 
Flemish  workmanship,  whose  engravings  appear  upon  the  reverse 
side.  A  distinct  class  of  palimpsests  is  thus  formed,  which  is 
constantly  receiving  fresh  additions,  as  brasses  are  displaced  and 
new  discoveries  made. 

Examples  are  at  Mawgan  Nunnery,  in  Cornwall ;  Margate ; 
Pinner,  near  Harrow;  and  Camberwell,  in  South  London.  In 
the  last  two  instances  the  brasses  are  now  set  in  frames,  so  that 
both  sides  can  be  easily  seen. 

In    the    16th    and    17th    centuries    the    use   of    small    mural 


ADDITIONAL   CLASSES.  IOJ 

rectangular  plates  became  common  in  this  country,  and 
the  young  collector  must  be  careful  to  distinguish  these  from 
Flemish  brasses.  With  a  little  practice  they  will  be  easily  recog- 
nised. A  good  practical  rule  is  that  if  a  rectangular  brass  is 
mural,  and  also  not  more  than  eighteen  inches  high,  it  is  almost 
certainly  not  Flemish.  One  of  the  earliest  of  such  'brasses, 
representing  a  man  in  armour,  wife,  and  children  (c.  1500),  was 
once  in  Netley  Abbey,  and  is  now  in  the  possession  of  the  Surrey 
Archaeological  Society.  Its  history  is  a  curious  one,  and  ful- 
some years  it  did  duty  as  the  back  of  a  cottage  fireplace,  where 
it  was  discovered  by  the  incumbent  of  a  neighbouring  parish. 
Fortunately  it  remains  uninjured.  Boutell  has  actually  set  it 
down  as  Flemish,  but  without  sufficient  reason. 

FRENCH    BRASSES. 

A  few  brasses  have  been  assigned  by  some  antiquarians  to 
French  engravers.  In  France  itself  scarcely  a  brass  remains, 
and  there  is  little  to  prove  what  were  the  special  characteristics 
of  such  works  in  that  country. 

The  greatest  probability  of  French  origin  attaches  itself  to  the 
two  following  : — 

Sir  John  de  Northwode  and  lady.     c.  1330.     Minster,  Isle  of  Sheppey. 
John  de  Grovehurst,  priest,     c.  1340.     Horsemonden,  Kent. 

PALIMPSESTS. 

The  term  palimpsest  is  applied  to  those  brasses  which  have  been 
laid  down  a  second  time,  in  memory  of  some  person  other  than 
the  one  for  whom  the  plate  was  originally  engraved.  Its  primary 
application  was  to  a  certain  class  of  wain/scripts,  from  which  the 
first  writings  were  scraped  or  sponged  out,  in  order  that  the  some- 
what costly  parchment  might  be  used  by  another  writer.  The  best 
known  instance  perhaps  is  that  of  the  New  Testament  Codex 
Ephraemi,  of  the  5th  century,  now  at  Paris  ;  in  it  the  theological 
works  of  Ephraem  the  Syrian  are  written  over  the  partially  erased 
text  of  the  New  Testament. 

1.  Palimpsest  brasses  are  nearly  all  of  a  date  subsequent  to 
the  dissolution  of   the  lesser    and  greater    monasteiies,    1 536-9, 


IOS  MONUMENTAL   BRASSES. 


when  great  numbers  of  plates  found  their  way  from  the  abbeys 

and  priories  to  parish  churches.     In  these  cases  new  figures  were 

engraved  and  cut  from  the  older  memorials,  which   were  turned 

over  and  made  to  do  duty  once  more  as  new  brasses.     Out  of  the 

comparatively  small  number  of  brasses  which  have  in  modern 

times  become  detached  from  their    slabs,    a    remarkably    large 

proportion  of  those  of  the  latter  part  of  the   16th  century  have 

been    found    to  be    palimpsest.     At    Chobham,    Surrey,    is   the 

figure  of  a  knight  or  esquire,  with   long  beard,   and  dressed  in 

armour  of  about  the  year  1550;  on  the  reverse  is  a  priest,  c.  15 10, 

in  eucharistic  vestments,  holding  a  chalice  and  wafer.     The  brass 

is  now  nailed  to  a  pillar  in  the  south  aisle,  so  that  only  the  priest 

can  be  seen,  which  presents  a  very  battered  appearance.    Similarly 

at  Camberwell,  in  the  same  county,   an   inscription  to  Edward 

Scott,  1538,  has   on  its  reverse  another   to  John  Ratford,  some 

half  a   century  earlier.     At    Howden,   Yorks,    an   inscription  to 

Peter  Dolman,  Esq,  [621,  has  on  its  reverse  the  lower  part  of  a 

civilian,  c.  1520.     Again,  at  Hedgerly,  Bucks,  the  brass  of  Mary 

Bulstrode,    1540,   is  entirely  made   up  of  palimpsest  fragments, 

brought  apparently  from   Bury  St.  Edmund's,  in  Suffolk.     On  the 

reverse  of  the  figure  is  an  early  inscription  in   English  verse ;  on 

that  of  the  Bulstrode  inscription,  another  to  Thomas  de  Totyng- 

ton,  Abbot  of  St.  Edmund's  1301-1312  ;  on  that  of  a  plate  of 

children,  part  of  the  figure  of  an  abbot,  c.    1530,  showing  his 

chasuble,  d  ilmatic,  and  pastoral  staff;  and  finally,  on  the  reverse 

of  a   shield,   a  representation   of   the  resurrection.       The    great 

Abbey  of  St.   Edmund's  was  only  delivered  up  to  the  king  in 

November,   1539,  a  few  months  before  the  death  of  Margaret 

Bulstrode. 
The  accompanying  illustration  (p.  1 11)  shows  on   the  obverse 

the  symbol  of  St.  John,  from  one  of  the  angles  of  a  border  fillet, 
and  on  the  reverse  part  of  a  shield  or  coat-of-arms.  It  is  now  pre 
served  at  the  British  Museum,  but  nothing  is  known  of  its  origin. 
Palimpsests  of  which  both  sides  were  engraved  before  the 
Dissolution  are  rare,  but  examples  occasionally  occur.  The 
illustration  here  given  is  from  a  rubbing  of  a  palimpsest  which 
may  be  seen  at  St.  Alban's  Abbey.  The  side  first  engraved  dis- 
plays the  lower  part  of  a  female  effigy,  c.  1430,  having  at  her  feet 


ADDITIONAL   CLASSES. 


T  I  I 


Palimpsest  Evanjj.   Symbol,  Tiritish  Museum. 

a  dog  with  a  collar  of  bells  ;  on  the  reverse  is  the  similar  portion 
of  an  abbot  in  full  vestments,  c.  1490.  Such  cases  can  only  be 
explained  by  a  theory  of  direct  theft,  the  engraver  being  probably 
the  receiver  of  the  stolen  goods. 

2.  Another  somewhat  numerous  class  of  palimpsests  consists 
of  those  in  which  the  earlier  engraving  is  foreign,  i.e.,  Flemish  or 
German.  These  may  be  either  spoilt  or  stolen  plates  which  had 
somehow  come  into  the  hands  of  the  exporters,  who  sent  them 
over  to  the  English  engravers  as  cheap  or  second-hand  stock. 
They  are  usually  very  fragmentary.  For  instance,  at  Pinner, 
Middlesex,  a  small  chrysom  child,  by  name  Anne  Bedingfeld, 
exhibits  on  the  reverse  the  words,  "  Hier  light,"  cut  from  the 
margin  of  a  Flemish  brass,  c.  1450.  Again,  at  Camberwell,  behind 
a  shield  and  inscription  to  Margaret  Dove,  1585,  are  fragments  of 
a  foreign  shroud  brass,  c.  1500.  So  also  at  Margate  (c.  14S0)  and 
Aylesford  (c.  1540)  Kent,  and  at  St.  Peter's  Mancroft,  Norwich, 
c.  1520.  In  this  last  brass  the  figure  of  Peter  Rede,  Esq,  1568, 
is  copied  from  a  much  earlier  engraving. 

3.  A  third  class  of  palimpsests  may  be  exemplified  by  the  brass 
of  Laurence  de  Wardeboys,  Burwell,  Cambs.  This  man  was 
the  last  Abbot  of  Ramsey,  in  the  Huntingdonshire  fens,  and  had 
his  brass  laid  down  during  his  abbacy,  1508-1539,  representing 
him  in  mine  and  full  vestments.  Then  came  the  dissolution, 
and  he  was  forced  to  resign  his  office,  dying  about  three  years 
later.  The  figure  was  altered  to  that  of  a  priest  in  canonicals, 
cassock,  surplice,  almuce  and  hood,  in  the  following  way  :—  The 
lower  part  was  turned  over  and  re-engraved,  and  an  entirely  new 
head    and    shoulders   were  added.       Traces  of  the  original  matrix 


112  MONUMENTAL   BRASSES. 

remain,  especially  the  cutting  for  the  mitre.  The  canopy  of  this 
brass  is  also  palimpsest,  but  of  the  ordinary  type.  Part  of  it  is  cut 
from  the  figure  of  a  deacon,  and  shows  on  the  reverse  his  fringed 
plain  dalmatic  and  his  maniple. 

'At  St.  Margaret's,  Rochester,  is  another  somewhat  similar 
example.  The  half  effigy  of  Thomas  Cod,  priest,  1465,  is  engraved 
upon  both  sides  of  the  plate.  The  first  engraving  was  evidently 
cancelled  on  account  of  a  slight  inaccuracy,  since  an  amice  has 
been  subsituted  for  an  almuce. 

4.  Another  and  rarer  kind  of  palimpsest  is  that  in  which  a 
figure  has  been  altered  without  reversing  the  plate.  The  best 
known  example  is  at  Waterpery,  Oxon,  and  commemorates  Walter 
Curzon,  Esq.,  and  his  wife,  1527.  The  figures  of  a  knight  and 
lady  of  the  middle  of  the  previous  century  have  been  adapted  to 
the  more  modern  style  of  dress.  To  the  male  effigy  a  new  head 
and  shoulders  have  been  given,  while  the  skirt  of  taces  has  been 
altered  to  one  of  mail ;  other  changes  of  less  importance  have 
been  made  in  the  other  parts  of  the  armour.  The  upper  half  of 
the  lady  is  entirely  new,  and  the  lower  part  has  been  shaded  and 
slightly  altered. 

At  Chalfont  St.  Peter,  Bucks,  the  brass  of  Robert  Hanson, 
priest,  1545,  exhibits  similar  alterations;  shading  has  been  added 
to  the  lines  of  the  vestments,  and  pointed  shoes  have  been  made 
round. 

5.  In  the  fifth  and  last  class  early  effigies  have  been  merely 
appropriated  to  later  persons,  by  the  simple  process  of  adding  a 
fresh  inscription.  Examples  are  frequent.  At  Ticehurst,  Sussex, 
Sir  John  Wyborne,  15 10,  is  represented  by  the  figure  of  a  knight 
which  was  engraved,  c.  1370,  and  in  this  case  his  two  wives  have 
been  added ;  they  are  placed  on  either  side  of  the  original  effigy, 
and,  being  only  half  its  size,  look  supremely  ridiculous.  In  these 
cases  of  misappropriation  warriors  seem  to  have  been  the  chief 
offenders,  as  at  Laughton,  Lines,  c.  1400  and  1549  ;  Bromham, 
Beds,  c.  1430  and  1535  ;  and  Isleworth,  Middlesex,  c.  1450  and 
1544.  At  Weybridge,  Surrey,  three  skeletons,  c.  1520,  are  made 
to  represent  the  three  children  of  Sir  John  Trevor,  the  last  of 
whom  died  in  1605.  In  many  of  these  instances  the  Dissolution 
of  the  Monasteries  may  once  more  give  an  explanation. 


vi.   h  Xtterar\>  (Suifcc. 

It  will  probably  be  useful  to  the  young  collector  and  beginner 
in  the  art  of  brass-rubbing  to  know  something  of  the  literature 
which  deals  with  his  pursuit. 

A  fair  number  of  books,  many  of  them  full  of  magnificent  illus- 
trations, have  from  time  to  time  been  published  on  the  subject- 
All  these,  with  the  exception  of  the  two  latest,  both  published  by 
subscription,  have  long  been  out  of  print,  and  are  difficult  to  pro- 
cure. Moreover,  their  costliness,  when  they  do  find  their  way 
into  the  market,  places  them  beyond  the  reach  of  the  majority  of 
collectors. 

They  can  all  be  studied  in  the  reading-room  of  the  British 
Museum,  but  nowhere  else.  The  great  libraries  of  Oxford  and 
Cambridge  are  lamentably  deficient  in  the  literature  of  this  branch 
of  archaeology. 

It  will  be  well  to  state  clearly  the  nature  of  the  books  which 
can  be  consulted,  and  before  particularizing  to  divide  and  place 
them  under  five  heads,  differing  from  one  another  in  importance. 
They  are  : — 

I.  Works    treating    solely   of    the   Study    of    Monumental 
Brasses  : 
(a)  Of  English  brasses  generally. 
(/>)  Of  brasses  of  single  counties. 
(c)  Of  foreign  brasses. 
II.  Works  on  Monuments  generally. 

III.  Works  on  armour  and  costumes. 

IV.  County    Histories,    Heralds    Visitations    and    other    anti- 

quarian works  treating  incidentally  of  brasses. 
Local  guide-books. 
V.   Magazine     articles    and     Transactions     of     Antiquarian 
Societies. 

U3  II 


114  MONUMENTAL   BRASSES. 

I.  Under  the  first  head  may  be  classed  everything  of  real 
importance  to  the  brass-collector,  and  the  following  list  will,  it  is 
:*oped,  be  found  to  be  a  fairly  complete  one. 

Haines,  Rev.  H.  :  "  A  Manual  of  Monumental  Brasses."  1861. 

This  comes  far  before  all  other  books  in  the,  brass-collector's 
estimation. 

It  is  simply  invaluable,  and  no  good  work  can  be  done  without 
it.  It  consists  of  two  parts,  an  introduction  and  a  list,  which  are 
usually  bound  in  separate  volumes.  The  introduction  is  extremely 
full,  and  leaves  little  or  nothing  to  be  desired.  Its  usefulness  is 
moreover  enhanced  by  some  200  illustrations,  many  of  which  are 
of  complete  brasses. 

The  list  is  of  greater  value  even  than  the  introduction,  and 
remains,  after  a  quarter  of  a  century,  the  only  one  in  existence  of 
the  brasses  of  the  whole  of  England.  It  forms  the  basis  of  every 
more  complete  county  list.  As  might  be  expected,  the  restora- 
tions and  re-sealings  which  have  taken  place  in  almost  every  old 
church  during  the  last  few  years,  have  brought  to  light  a  number 
of  brasses  which  were  unknown  to  Haines,  and  also,  unfortunately, 
through  ignorance  and  carelessness,  have  brought  about  the  loss, 
mutilation,  and  covering  up  of  others.  Thus  it  comes  to  pass  that 
Haines'  list  is  no  longer  a  very  accurate  one,  and  needs  revising. 

The  work  of  revision  has  been  taken  up  by  an  association  of 
brass-collectors  at  Cambridge  University,  and  corrections  are 
being  collected  to  that  end.  The  process  is,  however,  a  slow  one, 
and  will  probably  occupy  two  or  three  years.  Till  then  the  old 
edition  still  holds  its  place.  It  was  published  by  subscription  a', 
a  guinea  per  copy,  but  now,  when  it  occasionally  finds  its  way  into 
the  market,  is  worth  nearly  half  as  much  again. 

About  twelve  years  before  the  appearance  of  these  volumes,  a 
"  Manual  for  the  Study  of  Monumental  Brasses,  and  Descriptive 
Catalogue  of  Rubbings,"  was  issued  by  the  Oxford  Architecture 
Society. 

This  also  was  written  by  Haines,  and  its  introduction  is  a 
shorter  draught  of  the  later  manual.  The  catalogue  of  the 
Society's  rubbings  is  its  peculiar  feature,  and  this  forms  an  excel- 
lent model  which  all  would  do  well  to  follow. 


A   LITERARY   GUIDE.  115 


Manning,  Rev.  C.  R.,  published  a  tentative  list  of  brasses  a 
few  years  before  Haines  appeared.  As  a  first  attempt  it  deserves 
praise,  but  was  entirely  superseded  by  the  later  work. 

Justin  Simpson:  "A  List  of  the  Sepulchral  Brasses  of  Eng- 
land."    1S57. 
This  is  a  work  of  the  same  description  as  Manning's. 

Bouteix,  Rev.  C.  :  "Monumental  Brasses  and  Slabs."      1847. 

The  contents  of  this  volume,  as  the  title-page  says,  were  read 
for  the  most  part  at  the  meetings  of  the  St.  Albans  Architectural 
Society.  The  primary  object  of  its  composition  is  impressed  on 
the  style  and  character  of  the  book.  As  a  readable  introduction 
it  is  most  excellent.  Containing  not  half  as  much  information  as 
Haines,  it  has  better  engravings  and  is  better  printed.  In  :.n 
appendix  is  given  a  classified  list  of  some  fine  examples  of  brasses' 
chronologically  arranged. 

"  The  Monumental  Brasses  of  England.  A  series  of  engravings 
upon  wood,  etc.,  accompanied  with  brief  descriptive  notices.' 
1849. 

This  is  better  known  as  "  Boutell's  Series,"  is  uniform  with  the 
first  book,  and  contains  a  good  collection  of  engravings,  drawn 
and  executed  by  Utting.  In  selecting  the  contents,  those  brasses 
are  preferred  which  are  most  meritorious  end  possess  the  greatest 
general  interest.  At  the  foot  of  each  plate  are  given  the  approxi- 
mate date,  measurement,  and  position  of  the  brass.  Priests, 
knights,  and  ladies  are  well  represented  by  many  fine  spei  imens, 
but  there  are  few  civilians,  and  few  curious,  i.e.  unusual,  types  of 
brasses. 

Waller,  J.  G.  and  L.  A.  B.  :  "A  Series  of  Monumental 
Brasses,  from  the  13th  to  the  16th  Century."     1842    1 

A  magnificent  folio  volume,  published  originally  in  parts,  an  1 
containing  sixty-one  grand  coloured  plates.  The  stone  slab  or 
matrix  is  represented  as  pale  blue,  the  brass  itself  brown  or  green, 
while  lost  portions  are  restored  when  possible,  but  in  a  pale 
colour.  Coats  of  arms  are  coloured  wherever  there  is  the  slightest 
trace  of  enamel  or  other  colouring  matter  in  the  originals.  A 
full  descriptive  notice  is  given  of  each  brass  engraved,  with 
genealogical  an.^  historical  details  when  known. 


1 16  MONUMENTAL   BRASSES. 

Cambridge  Camden  Society  :  "  Illustrations  of  Monumental 
Brasses."     1846. 

A  peculiar  but  highly  interesting  book.  Good  plates  of  two 
dozen  fine  and  representative  brasses  are  given.  To  each  of  them 
is  appended  an  elaborate  and  somewhat  flowery  essay  by  one  of 
the  members  of  the  famous  society.  No  single  writer  contributes 
more  than  three  to  the  number.  All  the  essays  are  initialed,  and 
many  of  the  initials  belong  to  well-known  names. 

(/>)  We  now  come  to  works  treating  of  the  brasses  of  different 
counties.     They  are  not  as  yet  at  all  numerous. 

Fisher,  Thos.  Bedfordshire.  "  Collections,  Historical,  Genea- 
logical, and  Topographical  for  Bedfordshire."      181 2. 

This  work,  though  not  treating  exclusively  of  brasses,  heads  the 
list.  It  is  a  handsome  quarto  volume  of  very  fine  plates,  a  great 
number  of  which  are  devoted  to  the  brasses  of  the  county.  The 
plates  are  coloured  light  yellow. 

Cotman,  John  Sell.  Norfolk.  "  Engravings  of  the  most  Re- 
markable of  the  Sepulchral  Brasses  in  Norfolk."      1819. 

Here  we  have  a  most  valuable  book  on  the  brasses  of  this 
county.  No  other,  except  perhaps  Kent,  possesses  so  extensive, 
so  various  and  so  interesting  a  series  of  brasses  as  Norfolk. 

It  is  worthily  treated  by  Cotman,  whose  book  is  unrivalled 
in  its  class.  It  is  a  small  folio,  and  contains  numerous  beautiful 
engravings.  The  great  Anglo  Flemish  brasses  of  King's  Lynn 
to  Adam  de  Walsokne,  1349,  and  Robert  Braunche,  1364,  are 
particularly  fine. 

Not  a  few  of  the  brasses  described  by  Cotman  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  century  are  now  unhappily  lost.  This  adds  greatly 
to  the  value  of  the  book. 

Hartshorne,  Rev.  C.  H.  Norihants.  "  An  Endeavour  to 
Classify  the  Sepulchral  Remains  in  Northants."      1840. 

It  is  a  small  book,  devoted  chiefly  to  brasses,  and  is  not,  as 
the  title  would  lead  one  to  expect,  confined  alone  to  the  county 
of  Northants.  For  instance,  plates  are  given  of  the  brasses  to 
Sir  Roger  de  Trumpington  and  Sir  John  de  Creke,  both  in  Cam- 
,'ridgeshire. 


A   LITERARY   GUIDE.  I  17 

Hudson,  Franklin.  Norihants.  "The  Brasses  of  North- 
amptonshire."    1853. 

There  is  no  other  book  whose  plates  are  worthy  to  be  compared 
with  those  contained  in  this  grand  production,  except  the  Wallers'. 
Both  books  are  large  folios,  and  their  bronze-tinted  lithographic 
plates  are  altogether  beyond  comparison. 

Hudson's  is  improved  by  a  good  alphabetical  index. 

Kite,  Edw.  Wiltshire.  "The  Monumental  Brasses  of  Wilt- 
shire."    1S60. 

An  excellent  piece  of  work,  giving  a  very  full  account  of  the 
brasses  of  this  county.  The  general  character  of  the  letterpress 
and  the  style  of  the  engravings  are  similar  to  those  in  Boutell. 
Among  the  plates,  those  of  Bishop  Wyvil(in  Salisbury  Cathedral), 
and  Bishop  Hallum  (from  Constance)  are  the  best. 

The  brasses  are  arranged  in  order  of  date,  and  there  is  an 
interesting  chapter  on  "  Despoiled  Slabs." 

Dunkin,  E.  H.  W.  Cornwall.  "  Monumental  Brasses  of 
Cornwall."     1882. 

The  western  duchy  has  received  excellent  treatment.  Dunking 
quarto  volume  contains  sixty-two  very  accurate  engravings,  with 
a  full  description  of  each  brass  figured.  Numerous  genealogical 
and  other  details  are  given,  nor  are  despoiled  slabs  allowed  to 
pass  without  notice.  Haines'  list  is  carefully  corrected.  The 
index  will  be  found  at  the  end  of  the  introduction. 

Andrews,  W.  F.    Herts.     "  Memorial  Brasses  in  Hertfordshire 

Churches."      1SS6. 

As  a  modern  production  this  little  book  is  extremely  bad.  It 
is  a  reprint  of  articles  in  a  local  newspaper.  The  plan  alone  is 
good,  for  the  author  takes  Haines'  list  as  the  basis  of  his  account, 
supplementing,  correcting,  and  embellishing  with  details  gathered 
from  Chauncy's,  Clutterbuck's,  and  Cussans'  county  histories. 

It  is  disfigured  by  occasional  gro.-,s  mistakes,  c.,,  .  m  »ng  the 
Broxboume  brasses,  a  priest  in  academicals  is  called,  "  A  man 
in  civil  costume,"  although  correctly  given  by  1  lames.  Three 
or  four  illustrations  are  given  on  the  inside  of  the  piper  cover. 


IlS  MONUMENTAL   BRASSES. 

Belcher,  \V\  D.      Kent.     "Kentish  Brasses."     1808. 

Kent  has  long  needed  separate  treatment,  possessing  as  it 
does,  after  Norfolk,  the  best  and  largest  series  of  brasses. 

The  modern  method  of  reproducing  brasses  is  by  photo-litho- 
graph}-, a  method  at  once  accurate  and  inexpensive.  In  Belcher's 
book  225  brasses  are  figured,  the  great  majority  for  the  first 
time.  The  letterpress,  however,  is  altogether  inadequate,  and 
frequently  misleading ;  it  might  almost  have  been  omitted. 

Farrer,  Rev.  E.  :  "  List  of  Norfolk  Monumental  Brasses," 
1890.     A  simple,  but  remarkably  complete  list,  just  published. 

In  Lincolnshire  Notes  and  Queries,  the  Rev.  G.  E.  Jeans  is 
issuing  a  very  valuable  descriptive  list  for  Lincolnshire.  When 
finished,  it  is  to  be  republished  in  book  form. 

Before  leaving  this  section,  it  may  be  well  to  mention  that  good 
accounts  of  the  brasses  of  Herefordshire,  Worcestershire,  and 
Gloucestershire,  by  C.  T.  Davis,  have  appeared  in  several  Midland 
newspapers. 

These  are  The  Gloucester  Journal,  from  June,  1882,  to  Septem- 
ber, 1885  ;  the  Worcester  Herald,  from  March  to  December,  1883  ; 
and  the  Evesham  Journal  and  Four  Shires  Advertiser,  from  July, 
1886,  onwards.  The  Evesham  series  includes  brasses  in  the 
counties  of  Gloucestershire,  Worcestershire,  Oxfordshire,  and 
Warwickshire,  i.e.,  in  the  district  through  which  the  paper  circu- 
lates.   Unfortunately  they  have  not  been  reprinted. 

Two  books  on  the  Cambridgeshire  brasses  have  been  written, 
but  not  published.  The  first,  by  the  Rev.  B.  Hale  Wortham, 
dates  some  years  back,  and  is  scarcely  likely  ever  to  appear. 
The  second,  by  H.  K.  St.  J.  Sanderson  and  the  Rev.  A.  Brown, 
assisted  by  other  members  of  the  Cambridge  University  Associa- 
tion of  Brass  Collectors,  has  been  only  recently  completed.  The 
information  it  contains  is  most  full,  and  the  loss  to  antiquarianism 
will  be  a  heavy  one  if  it  should  not  be  published. 

(c)  Works  treating  on  foreign  brasses. 

Crekny,  Rev.  W.  F.  :   "  Monumental  Brasses  on  the  Continent 

of  Europe."     1S84. 
In    this    section  Creeny's  handsome    folio    stands   alone.      A 


A   LITERARY   GUIDE.  119 

se'ies  of  plates,  similar  to  the  Wallers',  was  advertised  by  W.  H. 
J.  Weale  twenty  or  thirty  years  ago.  They  were  to  include  the 
linest  brasses  of  Northern  Europe,  but  for  some  reason  or  other 
the  project  was  abandoned.  The  field  remained  unoccupied  till 
the  appearance  of  Creeny's  book.  His  plates  are  photo- 
lithographs,  well  executed  on  good  paper,  and  are  among  the 
finest  of  their  kind.  The  brasses  figured  are  many  of  them 
magnificent  examples  of  the  engraver's  art,  especially  those  from 
Lubeck  and  Schwerin.  To  the  student  of  English  brasses  thev 
are  most  valuable  for  the  light  they  throw  on  the  great  Anglo- 
Flemish  brasses  at  St.  Albans,  King's  Lynn,  and  Newark,  together 
with  all  the  lesser  English  examples  of  foreign  workmanship. 

II.  Works  on  Monuments  generally. 

It  will  not  be  necessary  to  say  much  of  this  class  of  books, 
though  they  sometimes  have  a  bearing  on  the  subject  of  brasses. 
Modern  productions  are  fairly  common,  especially  those  which  are 
concerned  only  with  some  particular  locality.  Of  the  older 
books,  Weevsr  is  the  parent.  His  book,  "  Ancient  Funeral  Monu- 
ments," was  published  in  a.d.  1631,  just  before  the  beginning  of 
the  Great  Rebellion,  and  deals  with  the  dioceses  of  Canterbury, 
Rochester,  London,  and  Norwich.  The  greater  part  is  devoted 
to  London.  His  accounts  are  extremely  valuable,  especially  that 
of  Old  St.  Paul's,  with  all  its  beautiful  tombs  and  brasses,  as  well 
as  of  the  other  churches  destroyed  in  the  fire.  He  gives  a  great 
deal  of  most  interesting  information  about  the  disgraceful  treat- 
ment of  ancient  monuments  during  the  progress  of  the  Reforma- 
tion. Had  Edward  VI. 's  reign  continued  but  a  few  years  longer 
it  is  highly  probable  that  the  brasses  of  England  would  have  as 
completely  disappeared  as  those  of  France  did  during  the  Revo- 
lution. 

From  Weever  we  pass  on  a  century  and  a  half  to  another  great 
antiquarian  landmark,  Gough's  "Sepulchral  Monuments  in  (heat 
Britain,"  published  in  1786.  He  is  not  greatly  concerned  with 
brasses,  though  they  are  of  course  included  in  his  subject 
Stothard  speaks  very  sli-htingly  of  his  illustrations:  "Whatevei 
information  we  may  receive  from  his  writings,  the  delineating 
part  is  so  extremely  inrorrect,  and  full  of  errors,  that  at  a  future 
period,  when  the  originals  no  longer  exist,  it  will  be  impossible 


1-0  MONUMENTAL   BRASSES. 

to  form  any  correct  idea  of  what  they  really  were."  This  criticism 
goes  somewhat  beyond  the  truth,  for  in  the  department  of  brasses 
there  are  several  illustrations  of  small  brasses  printed  from  the 
monuments  themselves,  after  the  manner  of  Craven  Ord  and  Sir 
John  Cullum,  who  were  just  then  at  work  forming  their  collec- 
tions. 

Stothard  published  his  "  Monumental  Effigies  of  Great  Britain," 
in  1S1 7,  a  valuable  quarto.  His  plates  are  good,  and  include 
several  well-known  brasses, — from  Stoke  d'Abernon,  in  Surrey 
(Sir  J.  Daubernoun,  jun.),  Ingham,  in  Norfolk,  Amberley,  in 
Sussex  (John  Wantele),  Minster,  in  Sheppey,  and  Gorleston,  in 
Suffolk.  ' 

In  1840  appeared  another  volume  of  "Monumental  Effigies  of 
Great  Britain,"  by  Thomas  and  George  Hollis.  It  was  first 
published  in  six  parts,  and  was  intended  to  correspond  to  Stot- 
hard's  book  of  the  same  title.  It  contains  a  fine  series  of  plates, 
but  no  letterpress.  The  brasses  figured  are  from  Chartham,  in 
Kent  (Setvans),  Mildenhall,  in  Suffolk,  and  Wotton-under-Edge, 
in  Gloucestershire. 

III.   Works  on  Armour  and  Costume. 

As  none  of  the  writers  of  these  works  take  their  illustrations 
from  brasses,  except  occasionally  Fairholt,  a  mere  mention  of  the 
names  of  a  few  of  the  oldest  and  best  known  will  suffice. 

In  the  preface  to  his  "  Costume  in  England,"  Fairholt  says 
that  it  is  his  purpose  not  to  enter  into  lengthened  disquisitions 
upon,  or  descriptions  of,  costume,  but  rather  to  note  the  general 
characteristic  of  the  several  epochs,  and  to  direct  the  artist  to 
the  sources — in  books,  illuminated  manuscripts,  monuments, 
brasses,  etc.,  etc.  The  mention  of  illuminated  manuscripts  strikes 
the  keynote  of  nearly  all  works  on  armour  and  costume,  their 
illustrations  being  almost  exclusively  drawn  from  this  source.  It 
is  worked  out  more  particularly  in  Strutt's  "  Dress  and  Habits  of 
the  People  of  England,"  and  in  Sir  Samuel  Meyrick's  grand  book 
on  armour.  Both  are  crowded  with  beautiful  illustrations.  The 
works  of  Shawe  and  Planche'  on  these  same  subjects  are  also  well 
worth  looking  through. 

Blanche's  "  History  of  British  Costume,"  with  400  illustrations, 
has  lately  been  republished  by  Bell  at  a  moderate  price. 


A    LITERARY   GUIDE.  12  1 

IV.  County  Histories,  etc. 

A  great  deal  of  useful  information  may  be  picked  up  from  these 
books,  not  so  much  about  the  brasses  themselves,  though  they 
are  occasionally  the  subject  of  good  illustrations,  as  in  Lyson's 
"  Magna  Britannica,"  but  about  the  people  they  represent.  His- 
torical and  family  details,  when  wanted,  must  be  looked  for  in 
books  of  this  class.  It  would  be  quite  impossible  to  give  a  list  of 
them,  for  their  name  is  legion,  since  histories  of  single  towns  and 
villages  must  necessarily  be  included  among  them. 

The  young  collector,  to  whom  the  larger  and  rarer  works  are 
generally  inaccessible,  must  by  no  means  despise  the  local  guide- 
book. Its  information  may  be  scanty  and  imperfect,  and  is  fre- 
quently inaccurate,  but  it  may  often  give  him  useful  hints  which 
he  will  do  well  to  follow  out.  Especially  when  he  possesses  no 
good  list  of  brasses,  he  may  generally  discover  from  a  guide-book 
what  churches  are  most  likely  to  repay  a  visit. 

V.  Magazine  Articles  and  Transactions  of  Antiquarian 
Societies. 

It  is  extremely  difficult  to  collect  and  make  use  of  the  large, 
amount  of  varied  information  to  be  found  on  the  subject  of 
brasses  among  the  publications  mentioned  above.  In  this  field 
a  great  deal  might  be  done.  For  instance,  in  the  older  volumes 
of  the  Gentlenmns  Magazine  there  is  a  large  amount  of  in- 
cidental information  scattered  up  and  down  its  pages.  A  goo:1 
deal  of  it  takes  the  form  of  letters  to  the  editor,  Sylvanus  Urban, 
which  frequently  refer  to  brasses  that  have  now  disappeared.  A 
collection  of  all  these  notices  into  a  single  volume  would  he  oi 
great  value.  Modern  antiquarian  monthlies,  such  as  The  Anti- 
quary and  Watford's  Antiquarian^  also  yield  much  tint  is  ex- 
tremely valuable.  They  may  be  far  more  easily  consulted  than 
the  Gentleman  s  Magazine  of  our  great-grandfathers. 

Far  greater  difficulties  will  be  experienced  in  the  collecting 
of  information  from  the  published  transactions  of  antiquarian 
societies.  They  are  for  the  most  part  printed  merely  for  private 
circulation  among  the  members  of  each  particular  Society,  and 
are  therefore  extremely  difficult  of  access.  To  make  matters 
worse,  it  seldom  happens  that  copies  are  sent  even  to  the  British 
Museum. 


122  MONUMENTAL   BRASSES. 

The  Archaeological  Journal,  containing  the  proceedings  of  the 
Archaeological  Institute,  is  perhaps  the  most  accessible.  In  vol.  i. 
a.d.  1844,  there  is  an  excellent  paper  by  Albert  Way  on  brasses, 
treating  chiefly  of  the  historical  treatment  of  brasses  and  of  the 
various  methods  of  copying.  Notices  of  isolated  brasses,  by  J. 
G.  Waller  and  others,  are  to  be  found  in  later  volumes. 

Next  in  rank  come  the  transactions  of  county  societies,  such  as 
the  Yorkshire  Architectural  (cf.  Military  Brasses  with  facsimiles, 
by  J.  R.  Fairbank,  M.D.,  18S6),  the  Essex  Archaeological,  and  the 
Exeter  Diocesan  Architectural  Societies.  The  last  of  these  has  a 
volume  especially  rich  in  brasses. 

In  the  transactions  of  the  Birmingham  and  Midland  Institute, 
in  the  archaeological  section  for  1884-5,  are  two  valuable  papers, 
both  illustrated:  the  one,  by  C.Williams,  is  entitled  "A  Few 
Notes  on  Monumental  Brasses,  with  a  Catalogue  of  those  Existing 
in  Warwickshire  ";  the  other,  by  C.  T.  Davis,  "  The  Monumental 
Brasses  of  Herefordshire  and  Worcestershire." 

One  publication  has  been  devoted  exclusively  to  the  subject, 
of  brasses,  viz.,  the  "  Transactions  of  the  Cambridge  University 
Association  of  Brass  Collectors."  The  first  number  was  issued 
in  November,  1887,  but  its  circulation  is  extremely  limited.  It 
ia  just  possible  that  it  has  a  future  before  it. 


VII.    Distribution. 

The  monumental  brasses  of  the  British  Isles  are  by  no  means 
indiscriminately  scattered  over  the  whole  country.  They  are 
in  the  first  place  almost  entirely  confined  to  England  itself. 
Only  one  is  known  to  be  still  in  existence  in  Scotland,  viz., 
a  small  mural  rectangular  plate  in  Glasgow  Cathedral,  while 
four  brasses,  also  mural  and  rectangular,  in  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral, 
Dublin,  constitute  the  whole  of  the  Irish  contingent,  at  least  as 
far  as  is  known.  The  principality  of  Wales  possesses  perhaps  a 
score,  but  they  are  for  the  most  part  quite  unimportant. 

In  England  there  are  three  or  four  thousand,  and  yet  these 
are  but  a  small  fraction  of  the  number  which  must  have  been 
in  existence  at  the  commencement  of  the  Reformation.  Of 
those  that  remain,  the  greater  number  are  to  be  found  in  the 
eastern  and  home  counties,  while  in  the  west  and  north,  brasses 
are  rare  and  unimportant.  For  this  several  reasons  have  been 
assigned,  of  which  the  following  are  the  chief.  Eondon  and 
East  Anglia  were  in  direct  communication  with  Elanders  and 
Germany,  whence  was  imported  the  raw  material,  i.e.,  the  unen- 
graved  metal  plates.  Moreover,  the  trade  of  East  Anglia  was 
accelerated  by  the  facility  of  transport  by  water,  since  its  rivers 
are  numerous  and  sluggish. 

In  the  west  and  north  stone  and  marble  is  found  in  great 
abundance;  therefore  the  marble  effigy  was  the  most  obvious 
memorial  for  the  rich.  For  the  middle  (lasses,  brazen  plates 
would  be  much  increased  in  cost  by  the  necessary  land  trans- 
port. Again,  these  regions  were  not  nearly  so  wealthy  as  the 
trading  communities  of  the  east. 

Among  individual  counties,  the  two  best  in  the  brass  -rubber's 
eyes  are  certainly  Norfolk  and  Kent.  Which  of  them  actually 
heads   the   list   it  would  perhaps  be  difficult  to   say;  against   the 

]  a 


124  MONUMENTAL    BRASSES. 

great  Flemish  brasses  of  King's  Lynn  may  be  set  Sir  Robt.  de 
Setvans,  of  Chartham  ;  Sir  John  and  Lady  de  Northwode,  of 
Sheppey  ;  and  the  Cobhams,  of  Cobham. 

In  the  second  rank  we  should  place  Suffolk,  Essex,  and  Surrey, 
and  perhaps  Cambridgeshire  ;  while  in  the  third  we  should  in- 
clude Middlesex,  Herts,  Sussex,  Bedfordshire,  and  Lincolnshire, 
together  with  Yorkshire,  Oxfordshire  and  Buckinghamshire. 

Among  great  cities,  London,  Oxford,  Norwich,  Ipswich,  and 
Bristol  yield  the  largest  numbers  of  brasses. 

In  a  small  handbook,  it  is  of  course  quite  impossible  to  give 
a  complete  list,  and  the  only  thing  which  can  be  done  to  help 
the  young  collector  will  be  to  record  the  names  of  those  towns 
and  villages  in  each  county  where  brasses  are  to  be  found. 
The  list  is  compiled  chiefly  from  Haines.  Places  where  only 
inscriptions  occur  are  not  mentioned  : — 

Bedfordshire. 

The  best  brasses  are  at  Wimington,  and  include  a  beautiful 
memorial  to  John  Curtevs,  mayor  of  the  wool-staple  of  Calais, 
and  his  wife,  1391,  under  a  handsome  canopy  ;  also  to  Sir  Thos. 
Brounflet,  cupbearer  to  Richard  II.,  1430.  At  Bromham,  a 
good  three-figured  brass  (knight  and  wives),  under  triple  canopy, 
1435,  with  later  inscription.  Elstow  has  an  abbess,  Elizth. 
Herwy,  holding  her  pastoral  staff.  Cople,  Dunstable,  and  Luton 
excel  in  the  number  of  their  brasses. 

The  following  places  have  brasses  :— 

14//Z  ce?itury.     Barton-in-the-Clay  and  Wimington. 

i^t/i  century.  Ampthill,  Apsley  Guise,  Barton-in-the-Clay,  Bidden- 
ham,  Biggleswade,  Bromham,  Campton,  Cople,  Dunstable, 
Eaton  Socon,  Elstow,  Flitton,  Hatley  Cockayne,  Houghton 
Conquest,  Houghton  Regis,  Lidlington,  Luton,  jVIarston 
Morteyne,  Mepshall,  Shillington,  Stevington,  Thurleigh,  Til- 
brook,  Turvey,  Wilshampstead,  Wimington,  and  Yielden. 

16//1  century.  Ampthill,  Great  Barford,  Little  Barford,  Bedford 
(St.  Paul's),  Blunham,  Caddington,  Cardington,  Clifton,  Cople, 
Dean,  Dunstable,  Eaton  Bray,  Flitton,  Goldington,  Hatley 
Cockayne,  Hawnes,  Holwell,  Houghton  Conquest,  Houghton 
Regis,  Langford,  Leighton  Buzzard,  Luton,  Marston  Morteyne, 
Maulden,  Puddington,  Renhold,  Salford,  Sharnbrook,  Sutton, 
Totternhoe,  and  Wimington. 


DISTRIBUTION.  12: 


\jth  century.  Bedford  (St,  Mary's),  Biddenham,  Cardington, 
Dunstable,  Eyworth,  Felmersham,  Flitton,  Lower  Gravenhurst, 
Higham  Gobion,  Leighton  Buzzard,  Luton,  Puddington, 
Sharnbrook,  Tilbrook,  Tingrith,  Totternhoe,  Turvey,  and 
Vielden. 

Berkshire. 

Shottesbrooke  has  a  good  brass  to  a  priest  and  frankelein, 
c.  1370,  under  fine  canopy.  At  Bray,  Sir  John  de  Foxley  and 
two  wives,  1378,  stand  upon  a  bracket.  At  Childrey  there  are  a 
considerable  number  of  brasses,  and  among  them  Wm.  Fynderne, 
Esq.,  and  wives,  1444,  large  figures  under  a  handsome  canopy. 
A  warden  and  several  canons  of  Windsor  are  to  be  found  in 
St.  George's  Chapel. 

14///  century.  Ashbury,  Binfielcl,  Bray,  West  Hanney,  Shottes- 
brooke, Sparsholt,  Stanford-in-the- Vale,  Wantage,  and  Wind- 
sor. 

15///  century.  Abingdon  (St.  Helen's),  Ashbury,  Basildon,  Blew- 
bury,  Bray,  Childrey,  Cholsey,  Cookham,  Farringdon,  Easl 
Hampstead,  East  Hendred,  Lambourn,  Reading  (St.  Laurence, 
St.  Mary),  Shottesbrooke,  Sparsholt,  Stanford  Dingley,  Steven- 
ton,  Stratfield- Mortimer,  Sunning,  Swallowfield,  Tidmarsh, 
Tilehurst,  White  Waltham,  Wantage,  Windsor,  Little  Witten- 
ham,  and  Wytham. 

16//1  century.  Abingdon,  Appleton,  Bisham,  Blewbury,  Brightwell, 
Buckland,  Burghfield,  Childrey,  Compton,  Cookham,  Great 
Coxwell,  Cumnor,  Dencheworth,  Farriijgdon,  West  Hanney, 
Harwell,  East  Hendred,  Hurst,  Reading  (St.  Giles,  St.  Laur- 
ence, St.  Mary),  Little  Shefford,  Shottesbrooke,  Streatley, 
Sunning,  Swallowfield,  Bright  Waltham,  White  Waltham, 
Wantage,  Warrield,  Welford,  Windsor,  Little  Wittcnham,  and 
Wokingham. 

17th  century.  Bray,  Fawley,  Finchampstead.  East  Hagbourn, 
West  Hanney,  Kintbury,  Lambourn,  Langford,  East  Locking, 
Sandhurst,  Streatley,  Ufton-Nurvet,  Wantage,  Uid  Windsor, 
Winkfield,  and  Little  Wittcnham. 

Buckinghamshire. 

At  Taplow  there  is  a  beautiful  floriated  cross,  c.  1350,  in  the 
head  of  which  is  the  small  effigy  of  Nicholas  de  Aumberdene. 
At  Denham  lies  Dame  Agnes  Jordan,  Abbess  of  Syon,  c.  1540. 
Several  brasses  of  Provosts  and  Fellows  of  Eton   are  to  be  found 

in  the  College  Chapel.     The  palimpsest  at  Hedgerley  is  of  con- 
siderable interest. 


126  MONUMENTAL   BRASSES. 

\\tli  century.     Drayton  Beauchamp,  Ouainton,  and  Taplow. 

15///  century.  Amersbam,  Caversfield,  Chalfont  St.  Giles,  West, 
Chalfont,  Chearsley,  Cherries  (or  Isenbampstead),  Clifton  Reynes, 
Long  Crendon,  Denham,  Uinbam,  Dunton,  Emberton,  Eton, 
Haddenham,  Hambledon,  Haversham,  Hedgerley,  Hitchen- 
don,  Great  Horwood,  Lillingstone  Dayrell,  Great  Linford, 
Little  Marlow,  Milton  Keynes,  Great  Missenden,  Newport 
Pagnell,  Ouainton,  Monks  Risborough,  Saunderton,  Slapton, 
S  oke  Poges,  Stone,  Stow,  Taplow,  Thornborough,  Thornton, 
Tyringham,  Twyford,  Upton,  Nether  Winchendon,  Wing,  and 
Wooburn. 

16th  century.  Amersham,  Astwood,  Bledlow,  Burnham,  Caversfield 
Chalfont  St.  Giles,  West  Chalfont,  Chenies,  Chesham  Bois, 
Chicheley,  Middle  Claydon,  Crawley,  Datchet,  Denham, 
Dinton,  Drayton  Beaucbamp,  Dunton,  Edlesborough,  Elles- 
borongh,  Eton,  Halton,  Great  Hampden,  Hardmead,  Hedger- 
ley, Hitcham,  Iver,  Ivingboe,  Leckbampstead,  Great  Linford, 
Linslade,  Loughton,  Ludgershall,  Marsworth,  Great  Missen- 
den, Moulsoe,  Nettleden,  Penn,  Ouainton,  Monks  Risborough, 
Shalston,  Slapton,  Soulbury,  Stoke  Poges,  Stone,  Stowe, 
Taplow,  Thornton,  Tyringham,  Turweston,  Tyford,  Upton, 
Waddesdon,  Wavendon,  Wendover,  Weston  Turville,  Weston 
Underwood,  Whaddon,  Over  Winchendon,  Winslow,  Wooburn, 
Worminghall,  VVootton  Underwood,  and  Wyrardisbury. 

Ijt/i  century.  Amersham,  Beachampton,  Beaconsfield,  Bletchley, 
Dinton,  Eton,  Hambledon,  Hanslope,  Haversham,  Langley 
Marsh,  Great  Linford,  North  Marston,  Marsworth,  Little 
Missenden,  Penn,  Swanbourn,  Tingeuick,  Whaddon,  Wing 
and  Wooburn. 

Cambridgeshire. 
At  Trumpington  is  the  full-sized  effigy  of  a  crusader,  Sir  Roger 
de  Trumpington,  1289  ;  and  at  Westley  Waterless,  Sir  John  and 
Lady  Creke,  c.  1325,  both  being  brasses  of  very  great  interest, 
At  Wisbech  is  the  enormous  figure  of  Thos.  de  Braunstone. 
Constable  of  the  Castle,  1401.  Two  splendid  coped  priests, 
with  elaborate  canopies,  are  at  Balsham,  1401  and  1462.  Bur- 
well  has  a  curious  palimpsest,  and  Hildersham  an  elegant 
donated  cross  with  kneeling  figures. 

13///  century.     Trumpington. 

\\th  century.  Fulbourn,  Hildersham,  Horseheath,  Westley  Water- 
less, and  Wood  Ditton. 

15///  century.  Balsham,  Cambridge  (St.  Benet's  and  Little  St. 
Mary's  Churches,  St.  John's  and  King's  Colleges),  Fulbourn, 
Girton,  Haddenham,  Hatley  St  George,  Hildersham,  Hinxton, 
Isleham,  Linton,  Quy,  Savvston  Great  Shelford,  Little  Shelfurd, 
Suetham,  SwatY.iam  Prior.    Wicl.en,  Wilburton,  and  Wisbech. 


DISTRIBUTION.  127 


\bth  century.  Abington-in-the-Clay,  Barton,  Burwell,  Cambridge 
(Caius,  Christ*s,  King's,  Queens'  Colleges,  and  Trinity  Hall  , 
Dry  Drayton,  Ely  Cathedral,  Fordham,  East  Hatley,  Hilder- 
shani,  Horseheath,  Impington,  Isleham,  Kirtling,  March, 
Miiton,  Sawston,  Swaffham  Prior,  Weston  Colville,  Little 
Wilbraham,  Wilburton,  and  Wimpole. 

17th  century,  Bassingbourn,  Cambridge  (Queens'  Coll.),  Ely 
Cathedral,  Milton,  Stapleford,  SwarTL.tm  Prior,  and  Wimpole. 

Cheshire. 

There  is  nothing  of  any  consequence  in  this  county. 

l$th  century.     Wilmslow. 

ihth  century.     Macclesfield,  Middlewich,  Over,  and  Wybunbury. 

iSt/i  century.     Chester  Cathedral. 

Cornwall. 

At  Constantine  and  Mawgan  are  interesting  Flemish  palimpsests, 
14th  century.  Cornish  brasses  are  generally  of  late  date,  while 
many  of  the  17th  century  are  of  a  most  degraded  type. 

15///  century.  East  Anthony,  Blisland,  Callington,  Cardynham, 
Crowan,  Fowev,  St.  Gluvias,  St.  Ives,  Lanteglos-juxta-Fowey, 
Lostwithiel,  Mawgan-in-Pyder,  Penkevil,  Quethiock,  and 
Tintagel. 

l6t/i  century.     St.   Breock,  St.    Budock,   Colan,   St.  Columb,  Con- 
stantine, Crowan,   Fowey,  Gorran,  Grade,  St.  Just,  Landrake, 
Lanteglos,  Mawgan,  St.  Mellion,  St.  Minver,  Penkevil,  Pr<> 
Stratton,  Truro,  St.  Erme,  and  Wendron. 

17th  century.  St.  Columb,  Constantine,  Helston,  Illogan,  Laun- 
ceston,  Madron,  Minster,  Penkevil,  Quethiock  and  Truro. 

Curnherland. 

In  Carlisle  Cathedral  is  the  brass  of  Bishop  Bell,  formerly 
Prior  of  Durham,  under  a  triple  canopy,  1496. 

1  jt/i  century.     Carlisle,  Edenhall,  and  Graystoke. 

](>t/i  century.     Crosthwaite. 

ijt/t  century.     Carlisle  Cathedral. 

Derbyshire. 
There  are  several  very  fair  brasses  in  this  county,  but  nothing 
worthy  of  special  mention. 

14///  century.     Dronfield. 

ljt/i  century.  Hathci  sage,  Kcdlestone,  Morley,  Mugginton, 
Sawley,  Stavelcy,  Tideswell,  and  Walton-on-Trent 


128  MONUMENTAL  BRASSES. 

\6th  century.  Ashbourn,  Ashover,  Chesterfield,  Dronfield,  Etwall, 
Hatliersage,  Morley,  Norbury,  Staveley,  Taddington,  Wilne, 
and  Wirksworth. 

\~th  century.     Bakewell,  Crich,  and  Youlgrave. 

Dsvonshire. 

The  best  are  at  St.  Saviour's,  Dartmouth,  to  John  Hanley, 
Esq.,  and  wives,  1408,  under  triple  canopy,  and  at  Stoke  Fleming, 
to  John  Corp  and  grand-daughter,  standing  upon  a  low  pedestal, 
1 39 1,  with  canopy. 

\i,th  century.     Stoke  Fleming  and  Stoke-in-Teignhead. 

l$th  century.     Bigbury,  Chittlehampton,  Dartmouth  (St.  Saviour), 

Exeter    Cathedral,    St.     Giles-in-the-Wood,    Haccombe,   and 

Thorncombe. 
16th  century.     East  Allington,  Atherington,  Blackhauton,  Braunton, 

Clovelly,   Ermington,    Filleigh,    Haccombe,    Harford,    Kentis- 

beare,     Monkleigh,      Petrockstow,      Shillingford,       Staverton, 

Tiverton,  Tor  Mohun,  and  Yealmpton. 
ijth  century.    Clovelly,  St.  George's  Clyst,  Dartmouth  (St.  Petrock, 

St.    Saviour),     St.    Gile's-in-the-Wood,     Haccombe,     Harford, 

Okehampton,   Otterton,   Ottery  St.  Mary,   Sampford   Peverell, 

Sandford,  Tedburn  St.  Mary,  and  Washfieid. 

Dorsetshire. 

Nothing  important. 

i$t/i  century.  Compton  Valence,  Dorchester  (St.  Peter),  Lytchett 
Matravers,  Swanvvick,  and  Wimborne  Minster. 

'6th  century.  Bere  Regis,  Caundle  Purse,  Critchill  More,  Evershot, 
Melbury  Sampford,  Milton  Abbas,  Moreton,  Puddletown, 
Rampisham,  Shaftesbury  (St.  Peter),  Shapwick,  Sturminster 
Marshall,  and  Yetminster. 

■*yt7i  century.  Fleet,  Knovvle,  Pimperne,  Puddlehinton,  Puncknowle, 
and  \V  oil  and. 

Durham. 

Nothing  important. 

i$t/i  century.     Billingham,  Brancepath,  Chesterde-Street,  Sockburn, 

and  Sedgefield. 
ibth  century.     Auckland   (St.   Andrew),   Houghtonde-Skerne,    and 

Houghtonde-Spring. 
jyt/i  century.     Long  Newton. 

Essex. 

This  is  one  of  the  best  counties,  and  possesses  many  fine 
brasses.      Among  the  best  are  the  following  :— Sir  —  Fitzralph, 


DISTRIBUTION.  1 29 


c.  1320,  at  Pebniarsh,  a  knight  in  mixed  mail  and  plate,  of  the  kind 
worn  in  the  last  crusade;  at  Wimbish,  a  much  mutilated  cross 
brass,  with  figures  to  Sir  John  de  Wantone  and  his  lady,  1347  ;  at 
Bowers  Giftbrd,  a  headless  knight  in  unique  armour,  1348  ;  at 
Aveley,  a  small  Flemish  plate  to  Ralph  de  Knevynton,  1370  ;  at 
Little  Horkesley,  Sir  Robt.  and  Sir  Thos.  Swynborne,  fine  effigies 
under  a  doubly  triple  canopy,  1412  ;  at  Little  Easton,  Sir  Henry 
Bourchier,  K.G.,  Earl  of  Essex,  and  his  countess,  1483  ;  and  at 
Chigwell,  Samuel  Harsnett,  Archbishop  of  York,  vested  in  a  cope. 

\\th  century.  Aveley,  Bowers  Giftbrd,  Chrishall,  Corringham,  Great 
Leigh,  Pebniarsh,  Shopland,  Stebbing,  Stifford,  and  Wimbish. 

15///  century.  Arkesden,  Ashton,  Barking,  Berden,  Bocking,  Bright- 
lingsea,  Great  Bromley,  Chrishall,  Clavering,  Coggeshall, 
Corringham,  Dagenham,  Little  Easton,  Gosfieki,  Halstead, 
Harlow,  Hempstead  Heydon,  Little  Horkesley,  East  Horndon, 
Ingrave,  Laindon,  Latton,  Layer  Marney,  Leigh,  Great  Leigh, 
Low  Leyton,  Littlebury,  South  Ockendon,  Raleigh,  Roydon, 
Saffron  Waldon,  Springfield,  Stanford  Rivers,  Stifford,  Streth- 
all,  Terling,  Thaxted,  Theydon  Gernon,  Tolleshunt  Darcy, 
Upminster,  South  Weald,  Wendon,  and  Wenden  Lofts. 

\bth  century.  Aveley,  Great  Bardfield,  Barking,  Little  Bentley, 
Belciiamp  St.  Paul's,  Boreham,  Bradfield,  Little  Braxted,  Bright- 
ling  sea,  Great  Canfield,  Little  Canfield,  Great  Chesterford,  Chig- 
well, Chingford,  Clavering,  Coggeshall,  Colchester  (St.  James, 
St.  Peter),  Great  Dunmow,  Elmdon,  Elmstead,  Faulkbourn, 
Finchingheld,  Fryerning,  West  Ham,  Harlow,  Hempstead, 
Little  Horkesley,  Hornchurch,  Hutton,  Little  Ilford,  Kelvedon 
Hatch,  Lambourn,  Latton,  High  Lavers,  Littlebury,  Loughton 
Margaretting,  Messing,  Nettleswcll,  Newport,  North  Ockendon, 
High  Ongar,  Orsett,  Rawreth,  Raynham,  Rettenden,  Rochford, 
High  Roding,  Roydon,  Runwell,  Saffron  Walden,  Sandon, 
Stanford  Rivers,  Stisted  Stock,  Stondon  Massey,  Terling, 
Theydon  Gernon,  Thorrington,  Grays  Thurrock,  West  I'hur- 
.'.  Tillingham,  Tiltey  Abbey,  Tolleshunt  Darcy,  Toppesfield, 
1  i  minster,  Waltham  Abbey,  Walthamstow,  Little  Warley, 
South  Weald,  Willinghalc  'Ooe,  Wimbish,  Wivenhoe,  and 
Writtle. 

ijth  century.  Creat  Baddow,  Berden,  Bocking,  Chigwell,  Col- 
chester (St.  Peter),  Cr<  1  Easter,  Eastwood,  Elsen- 
,  North  Fambridge,  Fingringhoe,  II  .  East  Ham, 
Harlow,  Heybridge,  kittle  Ilford,  Leigh,  Low  Leyton,  Lough- 
ton,  South  <  »ckendon,  New  Rumsey,  Stifford,  Twinstead,  *  - 
Waltham.  North  Weald,  South  Weald,  Writtle,  and  Great 
Yeldham, 


150  MONUMENTAL   BRASSES. 

Gloucestershire. 

The  best  brass  is  at  Wotton-under-Edge,  to  Thomas  Lord 
Berkeley,  and  his  lady,  1392.  There  are  some  fairly  good  brasses 
at  St.  Mary  Redcliffe,  Bristol,  to  Chief  Justice  Sir  John  Juyn, 
1439  i  John  Jay,  sheriff,  14S0;  and  John  Brook,  serjeant-at-law, 
1522.  At  Cirencester  are  no  less  than  fifteen  to  various  priests 
and  merchants. 

\\th  century.  Bristol  (Temple  Church),  Winterbourne,  and  Wotton- 
under-Edge. 

15//Z  century.  Bristol  (St.  John,  St.  Mary  Redcliffe,  St.  Peter, 
Temple  Church,  Trinity  or  Barstaple  Almshouse  Chapel), 
Chipping  Campden,  Cirencester,  Deerhurst,  Dyrham,  Lechlade, 
Micheldean,  Newland,  Northleach,  Quinton,Rodmarton,  Seven- 
hampton,  and  Tormarton. 

\6th  century.  Berkeley,  Bisley,  Bristol  (St.  Mary  Redcliffe,  St. 
Werburgh),  Cheltenham  (St.  Mary),  Cirencester,  Clifford 
Chambers,  Deerhurst,  Dowdeswell,  Eastington,  Fairford, 
Gloucester  (St.  John,  St.  Mary,  St.  Michael),  Kempsford,  Leck- 
hampton,  Minchinhampton,  Newent,  Northleach,  Olveston, 
Thornbury,  Weston-upon-Avon,  Weston-sub-Edge,  Whitting- 
ton,  and  Yate. 

lyt/i  century.  Abbenhall,  Cirencester,  Todenham,  and  Wormington. 


Hampshire. 

At  Winchester  College,  in  the  chapel  and  cloisters,  are  a  dozen 
brasses  to  various  Wardens  and  Fellows,  and  a  number  of  similar 
inscriptions  without  effigies.  At  St.  Cross,  in  the  same  city,  there 
is  a  fine  coped  figure  of  John  de  Campeden,  Canon  of  Southwell, 
1382.    • 

\\th  century.  Crondall,  Sherborne  St.  John's,  King's  Sombourne, 
and  Winchester  (St.  Cross). 

15/A  century.  Havant,  Headbourn  Worthy,  Church  Oakley,  Ring- 
wood,  Sherborne  St.  John's,  Stoke  Charity,  Thruxton,  Nether 
Wallop,  Week,  Winchester  College,  and  Winchester  (St.  Cross). 

l6t/i  century.  Alton,  Barton  Stacey,  Bramley,  Brown  Candover, 
Crondall,  Dumner  Eversley,  Froyle,  Heckfield,  Itchen  Stoke, 
Kimpton,  Kingsclere,  Monkton,  Odiham,  Sherborne  St.  John's, 
Southampton  (God's  House),  Southwick,  Bishop's  Sutton, 
Farley  Wallop,  South  Warnborough,  Winchester  College,  and 
Yateley. 

ljth  century.  Alton,  Basingstoke,  Crondall  Odiham,  and  Preston 
Candover. 


DISTRIBUTION.  131 


14//2  century.     Calbourne. 
l$t/i  century.     Arreton. 


Isle  of  Wight. 

16th  century.     Kingston  and  Shonvell. 
\7tl1  century.     Colboarne  and  Shonvell. 


Herefordshire. 

In  the  cathedral  there  are  a  number  of  good  brasses.  That  to 
Bishop  Trilleck,  1360,  with  canopy,  is  particularly  fine.  Several 
plates,  for  some  years  in  the  possession  of  the  late  J.  B.  Nichols, 
Esq.,  have  recently  been  restored,  and  are  now  mural  in  the 
tower. 

14M  century.  Hereford  Cathedral. 

15//J  century.  Clehonger,  Hereford,  Kinnersley,  and  Ledbury. 

i6t/i  century.  Brampton  Abbots,  Colwall,  Hereford  Cathedral,  and 

Ludford. 

ljt/i  century.  Burghill,  Ledbury,  and  Harden. 

Hertfordshire. 

A  good  county.  In  St.  Alban's  Abbey  lies  perhaps  the  most 
magnificent  brass  in  England,  a  great  Flemish  plate  to  Abbot 
John  Delamere,  c.  1360;  other  abbey  brasses  include  those  of 
several  of  the  Benedictine  monks.  At  St.  Michael's  in  the  out- 
skirts of  the  same  city,  is  a  beautiful  floriated  cross  with  a  figure 
in  the  head,  c.  1380.  At  North  Mimms,  another  Flemish  brass, 
but  small,  to  a  priest,  c.  1360.  There  are  also  fine  brasses  at 
Digswell,  to  John  Peryent,  Esq.,  and  wife,  1415  ;  at  Sawbridge- 
worth,  to  John  Leventhorp,  Esq.,  and  wife,  1433  ;  and  at  Great 
Berkhampstead,  to  Richard  Torryngton  and  wife,  1356. 

\/\th  century.  Great  Berkhampstead,  North  Minims,  St.  Alban's 
(Abbey,  St.  Michael),  Watlord,  and  Watton. 

15//&  century.  Aldbury,  Great  Amwell,  Baldock,  Barkway,  Great 
Berkhampstead,  Braughing,  Broxbourne,  Buckland,  Cheshunt, 
Clothall,  Digswell,  Flamstead,  Little  Hadham,  Harpend  :n, 
Hemel  Hempstead,  Hinxworth,  Hitchen,  Hunsdon,  Ickleford, 
Kelshall,  Knebwortb,  Abbots  Langley,  King's  Langley,  Letch- 
worth,  North  Mimms,  Newenham,  Furneux  Pelham,  Royston, 
St.  Alban's  (Abbey,  St.  Stephen),  Sandon,  Sawbridgeworth, 
Standon,  Walkerne,  Ware,  Watford,  Watton,  Wheathampstead, 
Willian,  anil  Wormley. 

16//;  century.  Albury,  Aldbury,  Aldenham,  Ardeley,  Aspedcn, 
A^ton,  Bayford,  Bennington,  Greai  Berkhampstead,  Braugh- 
ing,    L'roxbournc,     Cheshunt,     Clothall,     Digswell,     Eastwick, 


132  MONUMENTAL    BRASSES. 


Essendon,  Great  Gaddesden,  Much  Hadham,  Harpenden, 
Hitcliin,  Hunsdon,  Ippolyts,  Knebworth,  Abbots  Langley, 
King's  Langley,  Layston,  North  Minims,  Offley,  Furneux  Pel- 
ham,  Radwell,  Redburn,  St.  Alban's  (Abbey),  Sawbridgeworth, 
Standon,  Stanstead  Abbots,  Stevenage,  Walkerne,  Watton, 
Wheathampstead,  Wormley,  and  Wyddiall. 
ijt/i  century.  Aldenham,  Great  Amwell,  Barley,  Cheshunt,  Clot- 
hall,  Datchworth,  Much  Hadham,  Newenham,  Brent  Pelhani, 
Rickmansworth,  St.  Alban's  (St.  Peter),  Sawbridgeworth, 
Shenley,  Tewin,  and  Walkerne. 

Huntingdonshire. 

Nothing  important. 

\$th  century.     Offord  Darcy  and  Sawtrey. 

16th   century.     Diddington,    Godmanchester,    Offord    Darcy,    and 

Somersham. 
lyt/i  century.     Stilton. 

Kent. 

Full  of  excellent  brasses.  At  Chartham  is  the  cross  legged  and 
mail-clad  effigy  of  Sir  Robert  de  Setvans,  c.  1306,  a  brass  possibly 
of  French  workmanship.  Again,  at  Minster,  in  the  Isle  of  Sheppey, 
we  may  have  another  example  of  French  work  in  the  splendid 
figures  of  Sir  John  and  Lady  de  Northwode,  1330;  and  also  at 
Horsmonden,  in  the  effigy  of  John  de  Grovehurst,  c.  1340,  an 
ecclesiastic  in  eucharistic  vestments.  At  Cobham  we  have  a  whole 
series  of  knights  and  ladies  and  priests  of  the  Cobham  family 
during  the  14th  and  15th  centuries,  most  of  them  beneath  hand- 
some canopies.  At  Hever  is  the  figure  of  Sir  Thos.  Bullen,  K.G., 
Earl  of  Wiltshire,  1538,  in  the  full  robes  of  the  illustrious  Ordei 
to  which  he  belonged.  Three  beautiful  floriated  crosses,  with 
figures  in  their  heads,  are  to  be  found  at  Woodchurch,  East  Wick- 
ham,  and  Stone,  to  Nichol  de  Gore,  priest,  c.  1320  ;  to  John  de 
Bladigdone  and  wife,  c.  1325  ;  and  to  John  Lumbarde,  priest, 
1408.  At  Upper  Hardres  is  a  curious  bracket-brass  to  John 
Strete,  priest,  1405. 

i^/h  ccnttiry.  Ashford,  Chartham,  Cobham,  Graveney,  High  Hal- 
stow,  Horsmonden,  Kemsing,  Mereworth,  Minster  (in  Sheppey), 
Northfleet,  Saltwood,  Seal,  Sheldwick,  East  Wickham,  and 
Woodchurch. 

15//;  century.  Addington,  Ash,  Ashford,  Aylesford,  Bethersden, 
Birchington,  Bobbing,  Boughton   Malherbe,  Boxley,  Brabourn, 


DISTRIBUTION.  I  33 


Canterbury  (St.  George,  St.  Margaret,  St.  Mary  Magdalene), 
Great  Chart,  Chartham,  Chelsfield,  Cheriton,  Chislehurst,  Cob- 
ham,  Dartford,  Downe,  Erith,  Farningham,  Faversham,  Goud- 
hurst,  Graveney,  Halstead,  Upper  Hardres,  Hawkhurst,  Hayes, 
Heme,  Hever,  Hoatb,  Hoo  St.  Werburgh,  Lullingstone,  Lydd, 
East  Mailing,  West  Mailing,  Margate  (St.  John),  Mereworth, 
Milton-next-Sittingbourne,  Monkton,  Newington,  Northfleet, 
Pluckley,  Preston,  Rochester  (St.  Margaret),  St.  Lawrence 
(Thanet),  St.  Mary-in-the-Marsh  (Romney),  St.  Peter  (Thanet), 
Saltwood,  Sandwich  (St.  Clement),  Sheldwich,  Shorne,  Snod- 
land,  Southfleet,  Stoke,  Stone,  Sundridge,  Teynham,  Thanning- 
ton,  Trotterscliffe,  Ulcombe,  West  Wickham,  Wrotham,  and 
Wye. 

\bth  century.  Ash,  Beckenham,  Bethersden,  Bexley,  Biddenden, 
Birchington,  Boughton  Malherbe,  Boughton-under-Blean,  Box- 
ley,  Brabourn,  Bredgar,  Brenchley,  Canterbury  (St.  Alphege, 
St.  Martin,  St.  Mary  Northgate,  St.  Paul),  Cape'-le-Ferne, 
Challock,  Great  Chart,  Chartham,  Cheriton,  Chevcning,  Cob- 
ham,  Cowling,  Cranbrook,  St.  Mary  Cray,  Cudham,  Dartford, 
Upper  Deal,  Ditton,  Eastry,  Edenbridge,  Erith,  Farningham, 
Faversham,  Goodnestone,  Goudhurst,  Hailing,  Halstead,  Upper 
Hardres,  Hayes,  Heine,  Hever,  Horton  Kirby,  Ightham,  Lee, 
Leeds,  Leigh,  Linstead,  Lullingstone,  Lydd,  Maidstone  (All 
Saints,  Museum),  East  Mailing,  West  Mailing,  Mereworth, 
Milton,  Newington,  Newington-juxta-Hythe,  Orpington,  East 
Peckham,  Penshurst,  Rainham,  Ringwould,  New  Romney,  Old 
Romney,  St.  Mary-in-the-Marsh,  St.  Nicholas  (Thanet),  Selling, 
Shorne,  Snodland,  Southfleet,  Staple,  Staplehurst,  Sundridge, 
Teynham,  Tunstall,  Westerham,  East  Wickham,  West  Wick- 
ham, Woodchurcli,  and  Wrotham. 

ljth  century.  Ash,  Biddenden,  Great  Chart,  Cliffe,  Cranbrook,  St. 
Mary  Cray,  Dartford,  Davington,  Dover  (St.  James,  St.  Mary), 
Downe,  Faversham,  Fordwich,  High  Halstow,  Headcorn, 
Heme,  Hoo,  Horsmondeu,  Ightham,  Lydd,  Margate  (St.  John), 
Newington-juxta-Hythe,  Penbury,  Pluckley,  New  Romney, 
East  Sutton,  and  Wrotham. 

\%th  century.     St.  Mary  Cray. 


Lancashire. 

At  Winwick  there  is  a  curious  brass  to  Lord  Peter  Legh,  1527, 
who  is  represented  in  armour,  but  wearing  a  priestly  chasuble  over 
his  cuirass. 

15///  century.     Eccleston,  Manchester  Cathedral,  and  Winwick. 
lGt/i  century.     Childwall,  Manchester  Cathedral,  Middleton,  Orms- 
kirk,  Sefton,  Whalley  Abbey,  and  Winwick. 

lyt/i  century.     Manchester  Cathedral  and  Middleton 


134  MONUMENTAL   BRASSES. 


Leicestershire. 

Nothing  of  consequence ;  but  the  canopied  brasses  of  Pre- 
bendary Codyngtoun,  1404,  at  Bottesford,  and  of  Robert 
Staunton,  Esq.,  and  wife,  145S,  at  Castle  Donington,  are  fairly 
good. 

14///  cent  my.     Wanlip. 

15//2  century.      Bottesford,    Castle     Donington,    Hinckley,    Hoby, 

Loughborough,  Lutterworth,  Stapleford,  Stokerston,  Swithland, 

and  Thurcaston. 
i6t/i  century.     Aylestone,   Leicester  (Wigston's    Hospital),    Melton 

Mowbray,  Saxelby,  Scalford,  Sheepshed,  Sibson,  and  Wymond- 

ham. 
.ijth  century.     Barwell  and  Husband's  Bosworth. 


Lincolnshire. 

Among  a  number  of  interesting  brasses  are  the  following  :  Two 
half  effigies  of  knights,  one  in  chain-mail  and  the  other  in  banded- 
mail,  with  surcoats,  at  Buslingthorpe,  c.  1290,  and  Croft,  c.  13 10. 
At  Boston  a  doubly  triple  canopy  is  placed  over  the  figures  of 
Walter  Pescod  and  his  wife,  1398,  and  above  it  again  a  super- 
canopy  with  fourteen  saints.  In  the  same  church  is  a  canopied 
bracket  with  a  civilian  and  two  wives,  c.  1400.  At  Tattershall  are 
several  fine  canopied  brasses  to  members  of  the  Cromwell  family. 

13th  century,     Buslingthorpe. 

14M  century.  Boston,  Broughton,  Croft,  Grainthorpe,  Irnham,  and 
Spilsby. 

15///  century.  Algarkirke,  Barton-upon-Humber,  Boston,  Great 
Cotes,  Covenham  (St.  Bartholomew),  Fiskerton,  Gunby 
Hainton,  Harrington,  Hatcliffe,  Holbeach,  Irnham,  South 
Kelsey,  Laughton,  Linwood,  South  Ormsby,  Salmonby, 
Scrivelsby,  Spilsby,  Stamford  (All  Saints,  St.  John),  Stoke 
Rochford,  Tattershall,  Theddlethorpe  (All  Saints),  and  Wal- 
tham. 

i6t/i  century.  Ashby  Puerorum,  Bigby,  Great  Cotes,  Conisholme, 
Driby,  Edenham,  Hainton,  Harrington,  Horncastle,  Ingold- 
mells,  Mablethorpe  (St.  Mary),  Norton  Disney,  Rauceby, 
Scotter,  Scrivelsby,  Sleaford,  Stallingborough,  Stamford, 
Tattershall,  Winterton,  Winthorpe,  and  Wrangle. 

lyt/i  century.  Bigby,  Boston,  Burton  (Toggles,  Burton  Pedwardine, 
Evedon,  Halton  Holgate,  Leadenham,  Lincoln  (St.  Peter-at- 
Arches),  Pinchbeck,  and  Somersby. 


DISTRIBUTION.  1 35 


Middlesex. 

At  Westminster  Abbey  there  are  several  brasses  commemorating 
certain  great  personages ;  among  them  Bishop  John  of  Waltham, 
lord  high  treasurer,  1395  ;  Archbishop  Waldeby,  tutor  of  the 
Black  Prince,  3397;  Alianora,  Duchess  of  Gloucester,  1399;  Sir 
Thos.  Vaughan,  one  of  the  victims  of  Richard  III.,  1483;  Abbot 
Estney,  1498  ;  and  Dr.  Wm.  Bill,  the  first  Dean.  The  Duchess 
and  Sir  Thos.  Vaughan  are  dramatis  persona  of  Shakespeare.  At 
Enfield  is  a  beautiful  canopied  brass  to  Joyce  Lady  Tiptoft,  c. 
1470,  in  heraldic  mantle  and  coronet ;  at  All  Hallows  Barking, 
by  the  Tower  of  London,  and  at  Fulham,  are  Flemish  brasses  to 
Andrew  Evyrgar  and  wife,  c.  1535,  and  Margaret  Hornebolt, 
1529;  and  at  Harrow  are  several  effigies  of  early  knights  and 
priests,  as  well  as  of  John  Lyon,  yeoman,  1592,  the  founder  of 
the  school. 

\\th  century.     Harrow,  Hayes,  and  Westminster  Abbey. 

i$t/i  century.  Ealing,  Enfield,  Finchley,  Great  Greenford,  Hadley, 
Harefield,  Harlington,  Harrow,  Isleworth,  London  (All  Hallows 
Barking,  St.  Bartholomew-the-Less,  Great  St.  Helen),  West- 
minster Abbey,  South  Mimms,  Northolt,  Stanwell,  and  Willes- 
den. 

i6t/i  century.  Acton,  New  Brentford,  Chelsea,  Cowley,  West 
Drayton,  Edgeware,  Edmonton,  Enfield,  Fulham,  Great 
Greenford,  Little  Greenford,  Hackney,  Hadley,  Harefield, 
Harlington,  Harrow,  Hayes,  Hendon,  Heston,  Hornsey, 
Hillingdon,  Ickenham,  Isleworth,  Islington  (St.  Mary),  Kings- 
bury, London  (All  Hallows  Barking;  St.  Andrew  Undershaft; 
St.  Catherine,  Regent's  Park  ;  St.  Dunstan-in-the-West,  Great 
St.  Helen  ;  Holy  Trinity,  Minories  ;  St.  Mary  Magdalen,  Old 
Fish  Street  ;  St.  Olave,  Hart  Street),  Westminster  Abbey, 
Westminster  (St.  Margaret),  Northolt,  Pinner,  Ruislip. 
Teddington,  and  Willesden. 

lyt/t  century.  Edmonton,  Finchley,  Hackney,  Hadley,  Harmonds- 
worth,  Harrow,  London  (St.  Dunstan-in-the-West),  Northolt., 
Norwood,  Ruislip,  and  Tottenham. 


Konniouth  shire. 
Nothing  important. 

1 6th  century.     Mathcrne. 

\~tji  century.     Abergavenny  and  Llangittock-nigh-Usk. 


136  MONUMENTAL   BRASSES. 

Norfolk. 

There  are  more  brasses  in  Norfolk  than  in  any  other  single 
county,  and  far  more  than  in  all  England  north  of  the  Mersey 
and  the  Humber,  or  on  the  whole  of  the  Continent  of  Europe. 
The  great  Flemish  brasses  at  Lynn  Regis  have  only  two  rivals  in 
England  ;  viz.,  at  St.  Alban's,  Herts,  and  Newark,  Notts.  They 
are  truly  magnificent.  A  fine,  but  much  mutilated  brass,  perhaps 
also  of  foreign  workmanship,  to  Sir  Hugh  Hastings,  1347,  is  at 
Elsing.  Among  many  other  good  brasses  the  following  may  be 
mentioned  :  Symon  and  Alice,  Roger  and  Elizabeth  de  Felbrig, 
c.  1380,  and  Sir  Symon  Felbrygge,  K.G.,  standard-bearer  to 
Richard  II.,  1416,  at  Felbrigg ;  Sir  Wm.  Calthorp,  1420,  at 
L'urnham  Thorpe;  Brian  de  Stapilton,  Esq.,  1438,  at  Ingham; 
and  the  curious  imitative  brass  of  Sir  Roger  l'Estrange,  1506,  at 
Hunstanton.  The  brasses  of  priests  of  the  16th  century  in  this 
county,  and  seldom  elsewhere,  consist  often  of  a  chalice  and 
wafer,  instead  of  the  effigy  of  the  deceased. 

\\th  century.  Beachamwell  St.  Mary,  Blickling,  Elsing,  Felbrigg, 
Hellesdon,  King's  Lynn,  Methwold,  Necton,  Reepham,  and 
Southacre. 

J  5/7/  century.  Aldborough,  Aylsham,  Baconsthorp.  Barnham-Broom, 
Barningham-Town,  Beachamwell  St.  Mary,  Belaugh,  Blickling, 
Brampton,  Burnham  Thorpe,  Cley,  South  Creak,  Great  Cress- 
ingham,  East  Dereham,  Ditching'nam,  Erpingham,  Fakenham, 
Felbrigg,  Great  Fransham,  Frenze,  Frettenham,  West  H aiding, 
Heacham,  Holm-by-the-Sea,  Honing,  Hunstanton,  Ingham, 
Keteringham,  Kirby  Bedon,  Loddon,  Metton,  Narburgh, 
Norwich  (St.  Andrew,  St.  George  Colgate  ;  St.  Giles  ;  St. 
John  Maddermarket ;  St.  Laurence,  St.  Stephen,  St.  Swithin), 
Great  Ormesby,  Little  Plumstead,  Raveningham,  Reedham, 
Great  Ringstead,  Rougham.  Sail,  Sculthorpe,  Shernbourne, 
Great  Snoring,  Sparham,  Stalham,  Stokesby,  Stradsett,  Sur- 
lingham,  Swaffham,  S wanton  Abbot,  Upwell,  Little  Walsing- 
ham,  Warham  (All  Saints'),  Whissonset,  Wiggenhall  (St.  Mary), 
and  Worstead. 

l6th  century.  Acle,  Antingham  (St.  Mary),  Attlebridge,  Aylsham, 
Barnham-Broom,  Barningham  Norwood,  Bawborough,  Bee- 
ston  Regis,  Belaugh,  Bintry,  Blickling,  Brisley,  Old  Bucken- 
ham,  South  Burlingham,  Burnham  Westgate,  Buxton,  Catfield, 
Cley,  Clippesby,  Colby,  Colney,  North  Creak,  Gieat  Cressing- 
ham,  Feltwell,  Fincham,  Frenze,  Guestwick,  Halvergate,  West 
Harling,  Hedenham,  Hunstanton,  Kimberley,  Loddon,  West 
Lynn,     Mattishall,     Merton,     Mileham,     Narburgh,     Necton, 


DISTRIBUTION.  1 37 


Norwich  (St.  Andrew,  St.  Clement,  St.  John  Maddermarket, 
St.  John  Sepulchre,  St.  Laurence,  St.  Margaret,  St.  Michael 
Coslany,  St.  Peter  Mancroft,  St.  Peter  Southgate,  St. 
Stephen),  Great  Ormesby,  Outwell,  Paston,  Little  Plumstead, 
East  Rainham,  Rougham,  Scottovv,  Sculthorpe,  Sherringham, 
Shottisham  (St.  Mary),  Southacre,  Sparham,  Sprowston, 
Stokesby,  Surlingham,  Taverham,  Themelthorpe,  Thwaite, 
Tottington,  Trowse,  Trunch,  East  Tuddenham,  North  Wal- 
sham,  Little  Walsingham,  Witton,  Wiveton,  Worstead,  and 
Yelverton. 
lyt/i  century.  Acle,  Bawburgh,  Burgh  St.  Margaret,  Dunston, 
Felbrigg,  Heigham,  Hingham,  Langley,  Loddon,  Snettisham, 
and  North  Tuddenham. 

Northamptonshire. 
The  best  brass  is  at  Higham  Ferrers,  to  Laurence  de  St.  Maur, 
priest,  1337,  with  fine  canopy  and  super-canopy.  At  Great 
Brington  and  Cotterstock  there  are  bracket-brasses,  c.  1340  and 
1420,  both  to  priests.  At  Ne\vton-by-Geddington,  the  small 
figures  of  John  Mulsho,  Esq.,  and  wife,  1400,  kneel  to  a  floriated 
cross,  with  St.  Faith  in  the  head. 

\\th  century.     Great  Brington,  Kigham  Ferrers,  and  Rothvvell. 

\$th  century.  Aldwinckle,  Castle  Ashby,  Ashby  St.  Leger's, 
Blakesley,  Brampton-by-Uingley,  Charwelton,  Chipping  War- 
den, Cotterstock,  Cranford  (St.  Andrew),  Dodford,  Floore, 
Geddington,  Green's  Norton,  Grendon,  Great  Harrowden, 
Nether  Heyford,  Higham  Ferrers,  Horton,  Lowick,  Nascby, 
Newnham,  Newton-by-Geddington,  Newton  Bromshold, 
Raunds,  Spratton,  Sudborough,  Tansor,  Wappenham,  Wark- 
worth,  and  Woodford-cum-Membris. 

\6th  century.  Great  Addington,  Ashby  Canons,  Ashby  St.  Leger's, 
Ashton,  Earl's  Parton,  Blatherwycke,  Blisworth,  Church  Bramp- 
ton, Burton  Latimer,  Chacomb,  Charwelton,  Chipping  Warden, 
Cransley,  Dean,  Easton  Neston,  Fawsley,  Floore,  Hemington, 
Higham  Ferrers,  Kelmarsh,  Marholm,  Newbottle,  Norton, 
Orlingbury,  Paulerspury,  Rothwell,  Staverton,  Sulgrave,  Thorp 
Malsor,  Wappenham,  Welford,  and  Woodford. 

ljth  century.  Aston-le-Walls,  Barnwell  St.  Andrew,  Barton  Sea- 
grave,  Boddington,  Burton  Latimer,  Cranford  (St.  Andrew), 
Dene,  Dodford,  Kettering,  Newton-by-Geddington,  Northamp- 
ton (St.  Sepulchre),  Pottersbury,  Preston  Deanery,  Raunds, 
and  Stoke  Bruerne. 

Northumberland. 
Only  one  brass  is  known  in  this  county,  at  Newcastle-on-Tyne 
(All  Saints).     It  is  a  large   Flemish   plate,   and   commemorates 
Roger  Thornton,  merchant,  and  his  wife  Agnes,  1429. 


133  MONUMENTAL   BRASSES. 


Nottinghamshire. 

At  Newark  is  one  of  the  famous  quartette  of  great  Anglo- 
Flemish  brasses  of  the  14th  century.  It  commemorates  Alan 
Fleming,  merchant,  1361,  and  is  exceedingly  fine. 

14th  century.     Newark. 

l$th  century.     Clifton,    East    Markham,    Stanford,    Strelley,    and 

Wollaton. 
16th  century.     Darlton  and  Newark. 

Oxfordshire. 

The  city  of  Oxford  has  almost  as  many  brasses  as  an  average 
county,  and  the  best  of  them  are  in  Merton  and  New  Colleges. 
In  the  former,  Richard  de  Hakebourne,  c.  13 10,  in  the  head  of  a 
cross  ;  John  Bloxham  and  John  Whytton,  c.  1420,  on  a  canopied 
bracket;  and  Henry  Sever,  1471,  vested  in  a  rich  cope,  are  par- 
ticularly fine;  in  the  latter  are  twenty-one  members  of  the  college, 
including  an  Archbishop  of  Dublin,  141 7,  and  a  titular  Bishop  of 
Callipolis,  c.  1525.  At  Chinnor  there  are  no  less  than  six  brasses 
of  the  14th  century,  one  of  them  being  a  floriated  cross  with  the 
head  of  a  priest  in  the  centre,  c.  1320.  At  Cassington  there  is  a 
cross  fleury  for  Roger  Cheyne,  14 14;  and  at  Thame  a  good 
bracket-brass  to  Thos.  Quatremayn  and  wife,  c.  1420. 

14//Z  century.  Chinnor,  Deddington,  Lewknor,  Nuffield,  Oxford 
(Merton  College),  Rotherfield-Greys,  and  Waterpery. 

l$th  century.  Adderbury,  Aston  Rowant,  Bampton,  Great  Barford, 
Brightwell-Baldwin,  Brightwell-Salome,  Broughton,  Burford, 
Cassington,  Chalgrove,  Charlton-upon-Otmoor,  Checkendon, 
Chinnor,  Crowell,  Dorchester,  Ewelme,  Garsington,  Goring, 
Hampton  Poyle,  Harpsden,  Great  Haseley,  Lillingstone  Lovell, 
Northleigh,  Oxford  (All  Souls,  Christ  Church,  Magdalen,  Mer- 
ton, and  New  Colleges,  St.  Peter-in-the-East,  St.  Peter-le- 
Bailey),  Shirburn,  Stanton  Harcourt,  Stokenchurch,  Swin- 
brook,  Great  Tew,  Thame,  Watlington,  Whitchurch,  and 
Woodstock. 

16th  century.  Adderbury,  Brampton,  Brightwell- Priors,  Chastle- 
ton,  Cottisford,  Crowmarsh  Gifford,  Cuxham,  Dorchester, 
Ewelme,  Handborough,  Harpsden,  Great  Haseley,  Heythorpe, 
Holton,  Ipsden,  Kiddington,  Kingham,  Lillingstone  Lovell, 
Great  Milton,  Noke,  Chipping  Norton,  Oddington,  Oxford  (All 
Souls,  Christ  Church,  Corpus  Christi,  Magdalen,  Merton,  New, 
Queen's,  and   St.  John's  Colleges,   St.   Mary    Magdalene,    St. 


DISTRIBUTION.  1 39 


Mary-the-Virgin,  St.  Michael,  St.  Peter-in-the-East,  St.  Peter- 
le-Bailey),  Great  Rollright,  Shiplake,  Shipton-under-Wychwood, 
Somerton,  Souldern,  Stadhampton,  Stanton  Harcourt,  Stoke 
Lyne,  Stoke  Talmage,  Swinbrook,  Great  Tew,  Thame,  Water- 
pery,  Whatlington,  and  Witney. 
J"jth  century.  Bampton,  Chastleton,  Chesterton,  Deddington, 
Glympton,  Goring,  Harpsden,  Islip,  Oxford  (Christ  Church 
and  New  Colleges,  Holywell,  St.  Aldate,  St.  Michael,  St.  Peter- 
le-Bailey),  and  Souldern. 

Rutland. 

The  Little  Casterton  brass  to  Sir  Thos.  and  Lady  Burton, 
c.  141  o,  is  a  good  one. 

i$/h  century.     Little  Casterton  and  Liddington. 
\bth  century.     Braunston  and  Liddington. 

Shropshire. 

At  Acton  Burnell  tnere  is  a  fine  canopied  brass  to  Lord 
Nicholas  Burnell,  1382. 

\\th  century.     Acton  Burnell,  Adderley,  and  Burford. 
i^th  century.     Ightfield,  Middle,  and  Tong. 

16th  century.  Adderley,  Drayton,  Edgmond,  Glazeley,  Middle, 
Tong,  Much  Wenlock,  and  Withington. 

Somersetshire. 

The  best  brass  is  at  Ilminster,  to  Sir  William  and  Lady 
Wadham,  c.  1440,  each  under  a  triple  canopy  with  embattled 
entablature.  In  the  same  church  lies  Nicholas  Wadham,  Esq., 
1 61 8,  the  founder  of  Wadham  College,  Oxford. 

l^th  century.  Axbridge,  Banwell,  Beckington,  Cheddar,  Chedzoy, 
Hutton,  Ilminster,  Langridge,  Minehead,  South  Petherton, 
Swains  wick,  Tintinhull,  and  Yeovil. 

itth  centnty.  Banwell,  Beckington,  Burnett,  Churchill,  Cossington, 
Crewkcrne,  Dunster,  Fivehead,  Hemington,  Hinton  St.  George, 
Hutton,  Ilton,  Bishop's  Lydiard,  St.  Decumans,  Stogumber, 
Weare,  and  Yeovil. 

17th  century.  Backwell,  Bath  Abbey,  Croscombe,  Ilminster,  Luc- 
combe,  Portbury,  Shepton  Mallett,  Wedmore,  and  Wells 
(St.  Cuthbert). 

Staffordshire. 

None  of  the  brasses  are  conspicuously  good.     The  best  are  to 

Sir  Thomas  de  Audeley,  13S5,  at  Audley,  and  the  demi-figure  of 

a  lady,  c  1360,  on  a  bracket,  at  Clifton  Campvillc. 


140  MONUMENTAL   BRASSES. 

14//1  century.  Audley,  Clifton  Campville,  Hanbury,  and  Norbury. 

l^tk  century.  Abbots-Bromley,  Blore,  Hanbury,  and  Okeover. 

i6//z  century.  Kinver,  Leek,   Madeley,  Rugeley,   Stow,  and  Tren- 

thani. 

17th  century.  Biddulph  and  Stone. 


Suffolk. 
There  are  numerous  good  brasses  in  this  East  Anglian  county. 
The  best  are  two  cross-legged,  mail-clad  knights  at  Acton  and 
Gorleston,  the  former  being  Sir  Robert  de  Bures,  1302,  and  the 
latter  a  member  of  the  Bacon  family,  c.  1320.  At  St.  Mary  Quay, 
Ipswich,  is  the  Flemish  brass  of  Thomas  Pownder,  merchant,  and 
wife,  1525,  somewhat  similar  to  that  of  All  Hallows  Barking, 
London.  Again,  at  Letheringham  and  Playford  are  two  knights, 
Sir  John  de  Wyngefeld,  1389,  and  Sir  George  Felbrigg,  1400, 
with  the  arms  embroidered  upon  their  jupons. 

\\th  century.  Acton,  Brundish,  Gorleston,  Letheringham,  and  Lid- 
gate. 

l$th  century.  Acton,  Ampton,  Barningham,  Barsham,  Burgate, 
Bury  St.  Edmunds  (St.  Mary),  Carlton,  Debenham,  Easton, 
Euston,  Eyke,  Fressingfield,  Halesworth,  Holbrook,  Ipswich, 
(St.  Mary  Tower,  St.  Nicholas),  Ixworth,  Knodishall,  Laven- 
ham, Lowestoft,  Long  Melford,  Melton,  Mendlesham,  Neyland, 
Occold,  Oulton,  Pakefield,  Playford,  Polstead,  Raydon,  Roug- 
ham,  Sotterley,  Stoke-by- Neyland,  Stutton,  Ufford,  Walton, 
Wilby,  Wrentham,  and  Yoxford. 

\6th  century.  Acton,  Aldeburgh,  Campsey  Ash,  Ash-Bocking,  Ass- 
ington,  Barham,  Barrow,  Belstead,  Benhall,  Bildeston,  Little 
Bradley,  Braiseworth,  Bruisyard,  Brundish,  Bury  St.  Edmund's 
(St.  Mary),  Chattisham,  Cooldey,  Denham,  Denston,  Depden, 
Ellough,  Euston,  Fornham  All  Saints,  Gazeley,  Hadleigli, 
Halesworth,  Hawkedon,  Hawstead,  Honington,  Ipswich  (St. 
Clement,  St.  Mary  Quay,  St.  Mary  Tower,  St.  Nicholas),  Ix- 
worth, Kenton,  Kettleburgh,  Lakenheath,  Lavenham,  Great 
Livermere,  Lowestoft,  Long  Melford,  Middleton,  Monewden, 
Nettlestead,  Neyland,  Qrford,  Pettaugh,  Pettistree,  Rendham, 
Rushbrooke,  Sibton,  Sotterley,  Southelmham  (St.  James), 
Southolt,  Stoke  -  by  -  Clare,  Stoke  -  by  -  Neyland,  Stratford 
(St.  Mary),  Great  Thurlow,  Little  Thurlow,  Little  Waldingfield, 
Little  Wenham,  Wickham-Brooke,  Wickham-Skeith,  Wilby, 
Worlingham,  Worlingworth,  and  Yaxley. 

\yth  century.  Aldeburgh,  Ampton,  East  Bergholt,  Boxford,  Little 
Bradley,  Biedfield,  Bruisyard,  Darsham,  Easton,  Edwardstone, 
Hadleigh,  Hawkedon,  Ipswich  (St.  Clement,  St.  Nicholas,  St. 
Peter),  Lavenham,  Long  Melford,  Mendham,  Mickfield,  Middle- 


DISTRIBUTION.  HI 


ton,  Mildenhall,  Orford,  Redgrave,  Ringsfield,  Great  Saxham, 
Sibton,  Stoke-by-Clare,  Stoke-by-Neyland,  Stonham  Aspal, 
Stowmarket,  Tannington,  Walton,  Woodbridge,  and  Yoxford. 

Surrey. 

This  county  possesses  the  earliest  existing  English  brass,  viz. 
to  Sir  John  Daubernoun,  1277,  a  well-preserved  figure  in  chain 
mail,  with  spear  and  enamelled  shield.  It  is  at  Stoke  D'Abernon, 
a  small  village  near  Leatherhead.  In  the  same  church  is  the 
effigy  of  Sir  John  the  younger,  1327,  in  the  armour  of  the  reign 
of  Edward  II. 

Two  small  brasses  at  East  Horsley,  to  Robert  de  Brentyng- 
harri,  c.  1400,  and  Bishop  Bovvthe,  of  Exeter,  147S,  and  some 
good  brasses  to  members  of  the  Cobham  family  at  Lingfield,  are 
also  worthy  of  mention. 

i^th  century.     Stoke  D'Abernon. 

\\tJi  century.     Cheam,  Lingfield,  Ockham,  and  Stoke  D'Abernon. 

\-ith  century.  Albury,  Beddington,  Bletchingley,  Great  Bookham, 
Byfleet,  Camberwell,  Carshalton,  Cheam,  Crowhurst,  Farley, 
Horley,  East  Horsley,  Kingston-upon-Thames,  Leigh,  Ling- 
field, Merstham,  Nutfield,  Oakwood,  Oxted,  Pepper-Harrow, 
Puttenham,  Shere,  and  Wandsworth. 

16th  century.  Addington,  Barnes,  Beddington,  Bletchworth,  Great 
Bookham,  Camberwell,  Carshalton,  Charlwood,  Cobham, 
Compton,  Croydon,  Thames  Ditton,  Egham,  Ewell,  Farnham, 
Godalming,  Horley,  Lambeth  (St.  Mary),  Lingfield,  Merstham, 
Mickleham,  Putney,  Richmond,  Sanderstead,  Send.  Shere, 
Stoke  D'Abernon,  Streatham,  Titsey,  Thorpe,  Walton-on- 
Thames,  Weybridge,  Witley,  and  WToking. 

\~th  century.  Great  Bookham,  Camberwell,  Chipstead,  Long  Dit- 
ton, Guildford  (Abbott's  Hospital),  Horshill,  Oxted,  and  Rother- 
hithe. 

Sussex. 

There  are  a  considerable  number  of  fine  brasses  in  this  county. 
The  two  best  are  at  Trotton,  to  Margaret  de  Camois,  c.  13 10, 
and  to  Thomas  Baron  Camoys,  and  his  lady,  141 9,  under  canopy 
and  super-canopy  ;  Lord  Camoys  commanded  the  English  left 
wing  at  the  battle  of  Agincourt,  and  for  his  bravery  was  created 
a  Knight  of  the  Garter.  The  brass  at  Cowfold,  to  Thomas  Ne- 
lond,  Prior  of  Lewes,  1433,  is  particularly  fine;  the  canopy,  with 
its  clustered  pinnacles  and  flying  buttresses,   is  one  of  the  most 


142  MONUMENTAL   BRASSES. 

beautiful  known.  Among  other  fine  brasses  may  be  mentioned 
those  to  Sir  William  Fienlez,  1402,  at  Hurstmonceux,  to  Sir  John 
de  Brewys,  1426,  at  Wiston,  to  Sir  William,  Sir  Thomas,  and 
Lady  Joan  Echyngham,  1444,  at  Etchingham,  and  to  Britell 
Avenel,  priest,  1408,  in  the  head  of  a  floriated  cross,  at  Buxtead. 

\\th  century.  Arundel,  Bodiam,  Etchingham,  Fletching,  Rusper, 
Ticehurst,  and  Trotton. 

l^th  cejitury.  Amberley,  Arundel,  Battle,  Billinghurst,  Brede, 
Brightling,  Broadwater,  Buxtead,  Cowfold,  Etchingham,  West 
Firle,  Fletching,  Goring,  West  Grinstead,  Hellingley,  Horsham, 
Hurstmonceux,  Iden,  Lewes  (St.  Michael),  Ore,  Poling,  Pul- 
borough,  New  Shoreham,  Stopham,  Trotton,  Warbleton,  Win- 
chelsea,  and  Wiston. 

\6th  century.  Angmering,  Ardingley,  Bodecton,  Bodiam,  Bright- 
ling,  Chichester  Cathedral,  Clapham,  Clayton,  Crawley,  Cuck- 
field,  Ewhurst,  West  Firle,  Framfield,  Friston,  East  Grinstead. 
Hastings  (All  Saints,  St.  Clement),  Henfield,  Isfield,  Northiam. 
Rusper,  Slangham,  Slinfold,  Storrington,  Thakeham,  Warming- 
hurst,  and  Willingdon. 

17th  century.  Ardingley,  Battle,  Cuckfield,  West  Firle,  Hastings 
(St.  Clement),  Henfield,  Rye,  Slinfold,  Stopham,  and  Uckfield. 


Warwickshire. 

At  St.  Mary's,  Warwick,  there  is  a  fine  brass  to  Thomas  de 
Beauchamp,  Earl  of  Warwick,  and  Countess  Margaret,  1406.  A 
similar  brass  occurs  at  Baginton,  to  Sir  William  and  Lady  Bagot, 
1407. 

15//*  century.  Astley,  Baginton,  Hillmorton,  Merevale,  Middleton, 
Tysoe,  Warwick  (St.  Mary,  St.  Nicholas),  Wellesbourne,  Withy- 
brook,  Wixford,  and  Wroxhall. 

16th  century.  Aston,  Baddesley  (Clinton  Hall),  Barcheston,  Coles- 
hill,  Compton  Verney,  Coughton,  Coventry  (St.  Michael),  Ex- 
hall,  Hampton-in-Arden,  Harbury,  Haseley,  Preston  Bagot, 
Solihull,  Shuckburgh  Superior,  Tysoe,  Ufion,  Warwick  (St. 
Mary),  Whatcote,  YVhichford,  Whitmarsh,  Wexford,  and  Woot- 
ton-Wawen. 

lyt/i  century.  Aston,  Barton,  Chadshunt,  Coventry  (St.  Michael, 
Holy  Trinity),  Harbury,  Long  Itchington,  Meriden,  Solihull, 
Sutton  Coldfield,  and  Tamworth. 

Westmoreland. 

There  is  one  brass  only,  at  Kendal,  to  Alan   Bellingham,  Esq., 

1577- 


DISTRIBUTION.  143 


Wiltshire. 

At  Salisbury  Cathedral  is  the  curious  brass  of  Bishop  Wyvil, 
1375  j  the  half  effigy  of  the  bishop  is  seen  standing  in  the  castle 
of  Sherborne,  with  his  champion  before  the  gate.  At  Mere  there 
is  a  good  brass  to  John  Bettesthorne,  Esq.,  1398. 

14M  century.  Cliffe-Pypard,  Drayton  Cerne,  Mere,  and  Salisbury 
Cathedral. 

15th  century.  Berwick  Basset,  Bromham,  Collingbourne  Kingston, 
Fovant,  Mere,  Seend,  Upton  Lovell,  and  Wandborough. 

16th  ce?itary.  Aldbourne,  Alton  Priors,  Barford  St.  Martin,  Great 
Bedwyn,  Bradford-on-Avon,  Bromham,  Charlton,  Chisledon, 
Dauntsey,  Ham,  West  Lavington,  Laycock,  Long  Newnton, 
Ogbourne  St.  George,  Preshute,  Salisbury  (Cathedral,  St. 
Thomas),  Stockton,  Tisbury,  Wilton,  and  Woodford. 

ijth  century.  Alton  Priors,  Bradford-on-Avon,  Broad  Blunsden, 
Broughton  Gifford,  Collingbourne  Ducis,  West  Deane,  Devizes 
(St.  John),  Great  Durnford,  Minety,  and  Westbury. 

Worcestershire. 

Nothing  important. 

14//2  century.     Strensham. 

15th  century.  Blockley,  Fladbury,  Kidderminster,  Strensham,  and 
Tredington. 

\bth  century.  Alvechurch,  Blockley,  Broadway,  Bushley,  Chaddes- 
ley  Corbet,  Fladbury,  Hanley  Castle,  Longdon,  M amble,  Stock- 
ton Strensham,  Tredington,  and  Yardley. 

lyt/i  century.     Birmingham,  Daylesford,  and  Stoke  Prior. 

Yorkshire. 

At  Wensley  there  is  a  beautiful  figure  of  a  priest,  c.  1360,  of 
Flemish  workmanship.  Another  Flemish  brass,  rectangular,  as  is 
most  usual,  is  at  Topcliffe,  to  Thomas  de  Topclyff  and  wife, 
1 39 1.  There  is  also  a  fine  brass  at  Aldborough,  near  Borough- 
bridge,  to  William  de  Aldeburgh,  c.  1360,  in  armour  and  standing 
upon  a  short  bracket. 

\3,ih  century.  Aldborough,  Brandsburton,  Cottingham,  Topcliffe, 
Wensley,  and  York  Minster. 

15///  century.  Allerton  Mauleverer,  Aughton,  Beeford,  Bishop  Bur- 
ton, Catterick,  Cowthorpe,  Harpham,  Howden,  Hull  (Holy 
Trinity,  Leeds  (St.  Peter),  Londesborough,  Owston,  Ronald 
Kirk,  Routh,  Sprotborough,  West  Tanfield,  Thirsk,  Wath, 
Winestead,  and  York  (St.  Michael  Spurrier  Gate). 


144  MONUMENTAL   BRASSES. 

l6t/i  century.  Bainton,  Bolton-by-Bolland,  Burgh  Wallis,  Bishop 
Burton,  Hull  (St.  Mary),  Leak,Marr,  Otley,  Rotherham  Roxby 
Chapel,  Sessay,  Wentworth,  Winestead,  and  York  Minster. 

17^/2  century.  Kirby  Moorside,  Laughton-en-le-Morthen  Otley, 
Rawmarsh,  Sheriff  Hutton,  Thornton  Watlass,  Wellwick, 
Wycliffe,  and  York  (All  Saints,  North  Street,  St.  Cross,  St. 
Martin-le-Grand). 

18///  century.     Leeds  (St.  Peter). 

"Wales. 

Nothing  important. 

i$t/i  century.     Llandough  (Glamorganshire). 

i6t/i  century.     Beaumaris    (Anglesea),   Bettws   (Montgomeryshire), 
Dolwyddelan,  Llanbeblig  (Carnarvonshire),  Swansea  (Glamor- 
ganshire), Ruthin  and  Whitchurch  (Denbighshire). 
ijt/i  century.    Clynnog  (Carnarvonshire),  Haverfordwest  (Pembroke- 
shire) and  Llanrwst  (Denbighshire). 


ADDENDA. 


Lincolnshire. 
(From  "Line.  Notes  and  Queries."     Jeans.) 

14///  century.     Add  Althorpe  and  Gedney. 

I $th  century.     Add  Barrowby,  Glentham,  Harpswell,  Lincoln  (St. 
Mary-le-Wigford),  Rand,  Long  Sutton,  and  North  Witham. 
Omit  Scrivelsby. 
\6th  century.     Add  Cotes-by-Stow,  Northorpe,  and  Rand. 

Norfolk. 

(From  "  List  of  Norfolk  Brasses."     Farrer.) 

\\1h  century.     Add  Merton. 

\^th  century.  Add  Great  Ellingham,  Feltwell,  Helhoughton,  Matti- 
shall,  Norwich  (St.  Ethelred,  St.  George  Tombland),  Sharington, 
Thwaite,  and  Wood  Dalling. 

Omit  Baconsthorpe  and  Belaugh. 
lGth  century.     Add    Baconsthorpe,     Binham,     Brampton,      South 
Creak,     Cromer,     Ditchingham,     Fakenham,     Hindolvestone, 
Ketteringham,  Marston,  Newton  Flotman,  Salthouse,  Sharing- 
ton, Snettisham,  and  Weston  Woodton. 

Omit    Catfield,     Colby,    Norwich    (St.     Peter     Southgate), 
Sparham,  and  Taverham. 
17th  century.     Add  Brampton,  Ingoldisthorpc,  Morton-on-the-hill, 
Stokesby,  and  Up  well. 


INDEX     OF     NAMES. 

(Exclusive  of  Section  VII.) 


.Acton,  51. 
Acton  Burnell,  86. 
Addington  (Surrey),  14. 
Aldborough  (Norfolk),  72. 
Aldborough  (Yorks),  92. 
All  Hallows  Barking,  96,  106. 
Amberley,  120. 
Ash-next-Sandwich,  99. 
Ashford  (Kent),  91. 
Aveley,  105. 
Avenbury,  12. 
Aylesford,  III. 
Aylsham,  82. 

Baginton,  51,  92. 

Balsham,  28,  40,  85,  86. 

Battle,  47,  61. 

Beckenliam,  92. 

Beddington,  87,  89,  102. 

Bedford  (St.  Paul),  30,  31,  48. 

Berkhampstead,  Great,  77. 

Bexley,  103. 

Biddenden,  83,  97,  100. 

Bishopsgate  (Gt.  St.  Helen),  44. 

Bitton,  12. 

Bovvers  Gifford,  51,  59. 

Bray,  89. 

Bristol  (The  Temple),  97. 

British    .Museum,    25,    32,    105,    10S, 

in,  113. 
Broadwater,  S9. 
Bromham,  112. 

13,    <)2,    I  17. 

Burwell,  38,  ill. 
Bury  Si.  Edmunds,  108. 
Buxted,  88. 

Camberwell  (St.  Giles),  21,  106,  10S, 

III. 
Cambridge,  43,  44,  45,  47,  113. 


Cardington,  92. 

Carlisle  Cathedral,  40. 

Carshalton,  103. 

Cassington,  89. 

Chalfont  St.  Peter,  112. 

Chart,  Great,  52,  68. 

Chartham,  51,  91,  120. 

Chevening,  47. 

Chigwell,  40. 

Childrey,  92. 

Chipping  Norton,  21. 

Chobham,  108. 

Cobham,  21,  51,  68,  85,  86,  89,  9^. 

Cologne,  106. 

Constance,  1 1 7. 

Cople,  99. 

Cowfold,  47. 

Cray,  St.  Mary's,  17,  76,  83. 

Croydon,  97. 

Dartford,  85. 
Dartmouth,  52,  85. 
Denham,  47. 
Digswell,  52,  93. 
Dorchester,  47. 

Easton,  Little,  93. 

Ed  en  ham,  40. 

Elstow,  47. 

Kly  Cathedral,  3S,  40,  S9. 

Enfield,  85,  92. 

Etchingham,  S5. 

Eton  College,  43. 

Exeter  Cathedral,  03. 

Faversham,  85,  86. 
Felbrigg,  52,  91,  93. 
I*  nil )■  iii  111,  38,  40. 
I'ulham,  106. 

K. 


146 


INDEX   OF    NAMES. 


Goring,  28. 

Newcastle-on-Tyne,  106. 

Gorleston,  51,  120. 

Newton-by-Geddington,  89. 
Norwich,  83,  III. 

Haccombe,  28. 

Hardres,  Upper,  89. 

Ore,  70,  77. 

Harefield,  14,  75. 

Orpington,  41. 

Head  corn,  10 1. 

Oxford,  38,   39,  40,  43,   44, 

47, 

79, 

Hedgerley,  108. 

85,  86,  87,  88,  102,  113. 

Hereford  Cathedral,  21,  40. 

Heme,  44. 

Pebmarsh,  51. 

Hever,  89,  93. 

Penshurst,  89. 

Higham  Ferrers,  37,  89. 

Pinner,  106,  ill. 

Hildersham,  83,  89. 

Holm-next-the  Sea,  99. 

Quy,  52- 

Horseheath,  58. 

Horsham,  37. 

Rochester,  112. 

Horsley,  East,  38,  40,  97. 

Romney,  99. 

Horsmonden,  37,  85,  107. 

Rye,  101. 

Howden,  108. 

Hunstanton,  86,  89,  92. 

St.  Albans  Abbey,  8,  40,  47, 

52, 

85, 

Hurstmonceux,  51,  85. 

104,  105,  108,  109,  119. 

St.  Albans  (St.  Michael's),  77 

88, 

96. 

Impington,  93. 

St.  Bride's,  Glamorgan,  12. 

Ingham,  120. 

Salisbury  Cathedral,  12,  40, 

117. 

Ipswich,  106. 

Schwerin,  104,  119. 

Isleham,  73. 

Shottesbroke,  38. 

Isleworth,  14,  47,  112. 

Shrewsbury  (St.  Alkmond),  20. 

Southacre,  92. 

Jermyn  Street  Museum,  13,  106. 

Southfleet,  89. 
Stifford,  98,  101,  102. 

Kensington  Museum,  106, 

Stoke  d'Abemon,  13,  51,  52 

54. 

55, 

Kingston-on-Thames,  14. 

56,  91,  95,  120. 

Stone,  88. 

Laughton,  86,  112. 

Stratford-on-Avon,  86. 

Liege,  106. 

Sudborough,  37. 

Limoges,  II,  12. 

Surrey         Archaeological 

Society 

Lingrield,  21,  87. 

Museum,  8,  93,  107. 

Lubeck,  104,  119. 

Lullingstone,  75. 

Taplow,  77,  88. 

Lydd,  44,  10 1. 

Tattershall,  86. 

Lynn,  King's,  21,  77,  104,   105,    116, 

Ticehurst,  112. 

119. 

Topcliffe,  105. 
Trotton,  68,  86,  93. 

Mailing,  East,  43. 

Trumpington,  51,  55,  91,  116 

Mailing,  West,  75. 

Manchester  Cathedral,  40. 

Upwell,  86. 

Margate,  83,  106,  m. 

Mawgan-in-Pyder,  106. 

Verden  (St.  Andrew),  35. 

Melford,  Long,  74,  86,  92. 

Mildenhall,  120. 

Warbleton,  40,  85. 

Mimms,  North,  37,  105. 

Waterpery,  1 12. 
Wells  Cathedral,  12. 

Netley  Abbey,  8,  107. 

Wensley,  37,  38,  105. 

Newark,  77,  104,  119. 

Westley  Waterless,  51,  68,  n 

6. 

INDEX   OF    NAMES. 


147 


Westminster  Abbey,  7,  8,  12, 

38, 

40, 

Winchester,  40. 

47,  48,  52,  66,  85. 

Wisbeach,  52. 

Weybridge,  83,  1 12. 

Woodchurch,  88. 

Wickham,  East,  22,  88.  93. 

Wotton-under-Edge,  120. 

Wilbraham,  Little,  44. 

Wrotham,  93. 

Wimbish,  88. 

Wimington,  52,  85,  97. 

York  Minster,  38,  40. 

Butler  St  Tanner,  The  Selwood  Printing  Works,  Frome,  and  London. 


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